The buffalo. One of my favorite players growing up, Wilson Ramos was a staple in Washington, after Mike Rizzo made another remarkable under-the-radar trade, shipping Matt Capps to Minnesota for the 22-year-old Ramos who was stuck behind future Hall of Famer Joe Mauer.
In 7 seasons in Washington, Ramos put up 10.5 bWAR, with a .743 OPS, 83 home runs, and respectable defense behind the plate. After an all-star season in 2016 that was cut short due to injury, Ramos left for the Rays in free agency in part so he could work back from his ACL injury as a DH, leading to a major hole to fill in DC.
Random Nationals Highlight Day #14:
— Talkin Nats (@TalkinNats) January 5, 2023
Wilson Ramos Walks Off the Seattle Mariners- 06/21/2011
After Doug Fister of the Mariners pitches 8 innings of 1 run ball, the Nats found themselves down 6-1 in the 9th. With 2 outs, the Buffalo smashes a 3-run homer 434 feet to win 6-5. pic.twitter.com/GDTKokbhtT
With rumors circulating throughout the offseason, Rizzo picked up former Nationals farm hand Derek Norris from the Athletics, giving him $4.2 million in arbitration. With the catching position seemingly set, a signing of Matt Wieters seemed out of the picture... until it wasn't. Wieters signed a 1-year $10.5 million contract with the Nats during Spring Training, with a $10.5 million player for 2018. It did not go well, to say the least.
Man, this guy stunk. After the 2016 season where Wilson Ramos was having a career year and tragically tore his ACL right before the playoffs, the Nationals suddenly needed to find a catcher for the future in free agency heading into the 2017 season after being bounced in the NLDS. To be fair, Matt Wieters was one of the better catchers on the market, and he probably? Maybe? It was an upgrade over Derick Norris, who we traded for, and then released after Washington signed Wieters less than three months later. Wieters arrived in DC after a solid 2016 campaign with Baltimore, where he was an all-star and batted .243 with 17 home runs, a .711 OPS, and a 1.1 fWar in 124 games. He was an above-average catcher. He never came close to those numbers in DC.
In his first season with the Nats, Wieters batted a career-low .225, with only 10 home runs in 123 games. He was ranked 49th out of 49 catchers in the MLB with at least 200 plate appearances in fWar at -1.2. His defense was slightly below league average, and his offense was so bad that he was 39% below league average with a 61 wRC+. His baserunning was putrid, and he wisely accepted the $10.5 million dollar player option heading into the 2018 season.
In 2018 he put up better numbers, but his two seasons in Washington led him to be crowned the worst catcher in Nationals history. Hats off to Wieters for an overall solid career, and for somehow latching on to the Cardinals and backing up Yadier Molina from 2019-2020. Wieters was on Team USA Baseball heading to the 2021 Olympics, so I somehow found myself rooting for him once again until he was later cut. What a beautiful world we live in.
As bad as Keibert Ruiz is, at least he is not Matt Wieters. I apologize for the pessimism on this fine Sunday evening as I am writing this but for some reason, I had a bone to pick against Matt Wieters today.