WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals’ third game of the Grapefruit League season today will feature a new wrinkle that wasn’t a part of their first two games: The ABS challenge system.

ABS, which stands for “Automated Balls and Strikes,” is the so-called “robot ump” that calls pitches based on a group of camera angles and predetermined measurements for each batter. It’s been in use in the minor leagues for a few years now, and Major League Baseball is testing it out in some spring training games this year to see how it works at the highest level of the sport.

This isn’t the full-fledged robot ump, though. The plate umpire still makes every call on every pitch taken by the batter. But if a particular call looks to be wrong, either the batter, the catcher or the pitcher is allowed to challenge it by tapping his head.

The ABS system then kicks in, and on the stadium scoreboard for all to see, a digital strike zone is shown with the location of the pitch in question, followed by the correct call. It’s all done in a matter of seconds.

Here’s the catch: Each team is only allowed to get two challenges wrong per game. Nobody wants to run out of them, so the decision when and how often to use them becomes paramount.

The predominant headline two weeks ago at the non-tender deadline was the Nationals’ decision not to retain Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey. Drawing less attention at the time was their decision to retain six other arbitration-eligible players: Luis Garcia Jr., MacKenzie Gore, Josiah Gray, Derek Law, Riley Adams and Mason Thompson.

Perhaps the most surprising name on that list was Adams, who after a difficult season that twice saw him optioned to Triple-A Rochester seemed like a potential non-tender candidate. Instead, the Nats opted to keep the 28-year-old catcher, creating a potential tricky situation come March.

With 3 years, 5 days of big league service time, Adams qualifies for arbitration this winter for the first time in his career. He made $750,900 this season and is on track for a modest raise in 2025, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting a salary of $1.1 million.

That’s not a huge difference, of course, but that’s not the tricky part of the situation for the Nationals. If Adams and the team are able to agree to a 2025 salary without going to an arbitration hearing, that salary will be guaranteed in full.

This is a little-known change to the current collective bargaining agreement, which went into effect after the 2022 season. Previously, if a club released an arbitration-eligible player during spring training, it was only responsible for 30 or 45 days’ worth of termination pay, depending on the exact date the transaction was made. We saw the Nationals take advantage of that rule several times in the past, most notably releasing right-hander John Patterson (their 2007 Opening Day starter) in March 2008.

We’ve spent the last two weeks here running through all of the prominent position players on the Nationals, reviewing their 2024 performances and looking ahead to how they might (or might not) fit into the club’s 2025 plans. And we’ll transition to the pitching staff beginning Monday, first looking at the starters and then the primary relievers.

But to wrap up the position-player portion of this annual exercise, we still need to examine one more position on the roster: Backup catcher. And because two different players held that role this year, it seems appropriate to lump them in together and examine the overall state of the position.

Riley Adams has been the Nats’ main No. 2 catcher for three years now, and his amount of playing time has been remarkably consistent. He took 155 plate appearances over 48 games in 2022, then 158 over 44 games in 2023, then 130 over 41 games this season. And what’s been the biggest takeaway out of all that? He has neither hit consistently enough or shown enough behind the plate to warrant a permanent spot on the roster.

That certainly was the Nationals’ point of view this year, one in which they twice optioned a slumping Adams to Triple-A Rochester, including for the season’s final six weeks. The 28-year-old finished with an unimpressive .224/.292/.336 slash line, with five doubles, a triple, two homers and only eight RBIs. In the field, he ranked in the bottom third of all major league catchers in blocking, framing and pop time, and he threw out only three of 34 basestealers.

“I’ve said this before: Riley, when he consistently hits the ball, he can really help us against left-handed pitching,” manager Davey Martinez said after Adams’ second demotion this summer. “And he’s working on his catching again.”

There unquestionably is more young talent on the Nationals roster right now than there has been in years, and that alone is reason for more optimism than this franchise has offered in years.

Talent alone, of course, doesn’t win ballgames. Execution is required, especially in the moments that matter the most. And for some talented young players, that second part takes time to develop. If it ever does.

Today’s 5-3 loss to the Cubs was a game that was there for the taking. Alas, it slipped away from the home team because of a bad ending to a great start by DJ Herz, two more outs made on the bases at a time when the Nats needed baserunners, a particularly bad error by a rookie catcher and another inspiring but ultimately unsuccessful ninth-inning rally.

Put it all together, and you get a second straight narrow loss to Chicago, even if there have been several positive developments the last 24 hours by key young players.

"These things are worked on. It's just, the game speeds up," manager Davey Martinez said. "To me, we did make some mistakes today. But the big thing is, yesterday, one inning we gave it up. Today, one inning we gave it up. They’re going to have to learn how to get through these innings and limit the damage. That’s the big thing. The other things will clean up with time. ... Right now, we’re just making small mistakes. And as they play a little more, and play more and play more, they’ll start learning those mistakes become big mistakes in games like this."

ATLANTA – There are more promising young players to come, especially the one scheduled to make his major league debut Monday night in D.C. But the Nationals already are awfully young even before Dylan Crews joins them.

Of the nine players in today’s starting lineup, five were rookies. So was the starting pitcher. That made this first time the franchise has started six rookies in a game since 2010, according to Elias Sports. And they added a reliever as well today, bringing the total number to seven.

Sometimes youth has gotten the best of the Nats, who have a penchant for sloppy baserunning, sloppy defense and a lack of clutch hitting. And sometimes it comes together beautifully as it did this afternoon, when DJ Herz tossed five scoreless innings, Drew Millas and Jacob Young contributed clutch hits late and Eduardo Salazar helped bridge the gap to Kyle Finnegan, who notched a four-out save to close out a 5-1 victory over the Braves.

"Everybody's just figuring it out," Herz said. "And it's fun when we put it all together."

In avoiding a weekend sweep at Truist Park, the Nationals also clinched the season series over Atlanta, having gone 7-4 with two games still to go next month on South Capitol Street. It’s the first time they’ve done that since 2017.

ATLANTA – Good morning from Truist Park, where the Nationals and Braves wrap up their weekend series with an extra-early, 12:05 p.m. first pitch today. It’s another “MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku” game, so you’ll only be able to watch this game via streaming devices. Here’s how you can watch for free.

The Nats have lost two incredibly winnable games the last two nights – 3-2 in 10 innings, 4-2 in regulation – and they should be frustrated by the fact they didn’t win either of those games. They have a chance to rectify that today and finally clinch the season series over Atlanta, something, remarkably, they haven’t done since 2017.

It’s DJ Herz on the mound, and the rookie has been quite good since the All-Star break: a 3.07 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. He faced the Braves in his second career start back in early June and did OK, allowing two runs over 4 1/3 innings, though he needed 87 pitches to do it. The lefty has come a long way since then and will look to continue the upward trend this afternoon.

The Nationals will be facing a familiar face in Reynaldo López, the one-time prospect-turned-All-Star who continues to enjoy a breakthrough season here in Atlanta with a 2.05 ERA and 1.195 WHIP in 20 starts. The right-hander gave up two runs (via solo homers by CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas) over six innings in a June 6 no-decision. Abrams is leading off today, but obviously Thomas is no longer here. Interesting to see Drew Millas behind the plate for this one, with Keibert Ruiz serving as designated hitter and Riley Adams sitting.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Roku
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

ATLANTA – Though his injury didn’t prove to be as devastating as it appeared to everyone who watched it happen Friday night, Alex Call still did need to be placed on the injured list today with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot.

The Nationals made that transaction this afternoon, officially putting Call on the 10-day IL and recalling catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot for now.

Call hurt himself charging in from right field in the bottom of the second on a shallow fly ball that ultimately was caught by second baseman Luis García Jr. Call fell to the ground in agony about 20 feet behind García, suffering a non-contact injury that left him and plenty others worried he had torn his Achilles’ tendon.

But the 29-year-old, who had been trying to play through a case of plantar fasciitis, felt the “snap” in his foot, not ankle. And though he had to be carted off the field, an MRI of the foot revealed the tear of the fascia, which actually left him encouraged at night’s end.

The injury is serious enough to require an IL stint, though the Nats don’t know yet how long that stint will be.

The Nationals made a switch at their backup catcher position Wednesday afternoon, recalling Riley Adams from Triple-A Rochester and optioning Drew Millas back to Rochester.

Adams, 28, was sent down to Rochester and replaced by Millas on the major league roster a month ago after he hit .215 with five doubles, two homers, six RBIs, seven walks, one stolen base and six runs scored in 25 games with the Nationals.

Now after 22 games with the Red Wings, he’s back in the big leagues with improved timing at the plate and another defensive position in his back pocket to give manager Davey Martinez more flexibility.

“Feels good to be back,” Adams said mere minutes after he returned to the clubhouse at Nats Park. “Obviously I've been here now for 20 minutes and I'm happy to be back. Happy to be here and anyway can help the team and all that stuff, I'm here for. That's what I told Davey. I'm excited to get back to work.”

Adams slashed .288/.396/.550 with a .946 OPS, three doubles, six homers, 13 RBIs, 12 walks and 16 runs scored with Rochester.

Monday night’s 8-7 loss to the Mets was one of the Nationals’ more eventful games of the season, featuring an odd combination of encouraging, discouraging and frustrating moments along the way.

Let’s look back at some of the developments worthy of a second look …

* Drew Millas’ rough night
Making his first start behind the plate since his promotion Sunday from Triple-A Rochester, the rookie catcher was front and center for much of the game. And he did not enjoy a particularly good game.

At the plate, Millas went 0-for-4 with a walk, but he wound up as the guy in the batter’s box with the game on the line in the bottom of the ninth, the bases loaded and his team trailing by one run. He proceeded to strike out on three pitches, including a 97-mph fastball down the pipe from left-hander Jake Diekman that he watched sail by for a killer strikeout.

“I think my swing got a little big,” the switch-hitter said of his approach to the first two pitches of the at-bat. “I haven’t batted righty in a while, but that’s no excuse. I feel very confident right-handed to get the job done in that scenario. There’s zero excuse there.”

CLEVELAND – Drew Millas was sitting in the dugout in Rochester during Saturday night’s game against St. Paul, not in the Red Wings lineup and not having any reason to think his manager was about to start yelling at him.

And then he heard Matt LeCroy bellow out: “Millas, come down here!”

Not sure what this could possibly be about, the young catcher approached his Triple-A manager and was surprised by what he heard next: “You want to go to the big leagues?”

“Yeah,” Millas responded.

“Alright,” LeCroy shot back. “You’re going.”

CLEVELAND – The Nationals swapped out backup catchers this morning, optioning Riley Adams to Triple-A and recalling Drew Millas from Rochester, hoping the latter can provide a more potent bat in the big leagues while the former tries to rediscover his swing (while also getting playing time at another position) in the minors.

Adams got off to a hot start to the season and filled in admirably when starting catcher Keibert Ruiz dealt with a bad case of the flu, batting .293 with six extra-base hits and an .863 OPS through his first 12 games.

But he’s been in a prolonged slump since then, batting just .132 with one double and 16 strikeouts over his last 13 games. He hit a low point Saturday afternoon, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and letting a bounced pitch from Mitchell Parker get past him and roll all the way to the first base dugout as the Guardians’ José Ramírez scored all the way from second for what proved to be the decisive run in a 3-2 loss.

The Nationals hope more consistent playing time at Triple-A will give Adams a better chance of rediscovering his swing.

“It was a timing thing. He’s just got to get himself ready earlier,” manager Davey Martinez said. “It’s hard to do when you’re not playing every day. So getting him at-bats every day, and getting him locked in again, definitely will help him.”

CLEVELAND – The Nationals need a win in today’s series finale to avoid getting swept by a Guardians team that has won 14 of its last 17 and is absolutely rolling right now.

Both games this weekend have been competitive, with Friday night’s opener turning ugly late when the Nats bullpen gave up five runs and Saturday’s affair a tight one-run loss that hinged on two bad defensive plays. So Davey Martinez would love a cleaner game from his guys this afternoon, though the field will be wet after it rained this morning.

Jake Irvin gets the start, looking to continue what he’s been doing. The right-hander struck out a career-high 10 batters Tuesday in Atlanta, and he enters this game with a 3.43 ERA and sparkling 1.032 WHIP. Veteran Carlos Carrasco, fresh off a brief stint on the injured list, starts for Cleveland. Carrasco had two rough outings in late April but otherwise has allowed three or fewer earned runs in his seven other starts this year.

The Nationals made a roster move this morning, recalling Drew Millas from Triple-A and optioning Riley Adams to Rochester in a swap of backup catchers. Adams had been struggling at the plate for a few weeks, and his struggles behind the plate Saturday may have also exacerbated the move. Millas, who was up here briefly earlier this season when Keibert Ruiz was sick, was batting .308 with six doubles, five homers and 22 RBIs in 30 games with Rochester.

UPDATE: For the second straight day, CJ Abrams has been scratched, his left shoulder still bothering him when he tries to swing. Lane Thomas moves into the leadoff spot, with Ildemaro Vargas again taking over at shortstop and batting ninth.

Keibert Ruiz is back on the Nationals’ active roster, and back in the starting lineup for the first time in more than two weeks.

Ruiz, who was sidelined with a bad case of influenza, was activated off the 10-day injured list this afternoon and immediately placed in the lineup for the team’s series finale against the Dodgers. He’ll catch and bat fifth.

To make room for Ruiz on the active roster, the Nats optioned Drew Millas back to Triple-A Rochester. Millas wound up catching only one of the eight games the team played while Ruiz was on the IL, with Riley Adams starting the other seven.

Ruiz initially tried to fight through his illness, remaining on the roster for nearly a week but unable to play. The Nationals finally placed him on the IL when his condition hadn’t improved enough, and after he had lost 18-to-20 pounds.

Ruiz felt better enough to go on a short rehab assignment this week with Double-A Harrisburg. He caught both Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, going 1-for-9 and even stealing a base. As encouraging as that was, the team is still somewhat concerned about his ability to put weight back on while dealing with the demands of catching in the big leagues.

LOS ANGELES – Mitchell Parker’s major league debut takes center stage tonight, but the left-hander’s promotion was only one of five transactions the Nationals made prior to their series opener against the Dodgers.

With Nick Senzel ready to return from his fractured thumb, Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester. And with the team desperately needing a healthy second catcher, Keibert Ruiz was finally placed on the 10-day injured list with influenza and Drew Millas was recalled from Rochester.

The decision to demote Lipscomb was the most difficult for manager Davey Martinez, who has been among the rookie infielder’s biggest supporters since spring training. But Senzel was ready to return only 2 1/2 weeks after suffering his injury prior to Opening Day. And with second baseman Luis García Jr. off to a strong start himself, there wasn’t going to be an opportunity for Lipscomb to get everyday at-bats the way he did since taking Senzel’s spot.

“That was really tough. Such a great kid,” Martinez said. “The whole premise is he’s got to play every day. Luis is playing well. We need to get Nick back. So he’s going to go down and play every day, and I don’t foresee him being down there long. … He’ll be back. He did really well.”

Lipscomb burst onto the scene with five hits in his first 11 big league at-bats, including a homer in Cincinnati. But he regressed since then, going just 6-for-38 over his last 11 games. In 14 total games, the 23-year-old was batting .224 with a .278 on-base percentage and .286 slugging percentage.

LOS ANGELES – It’s Jackie Robinson Day across baseball, but really there’s only one place to be for this occasion. And the Nationals have the distinct honor of being at Dodger Stadium this year for this all-important day. There was already a ceremony outside the park at the statue of Robinson, with players and coaches from both clubs attending. There will be more pregame festivities, as well.

And then there will be a ballgame, with a very fresh face on the mound for the Nats. Mitchell Parker is making his major league debut, and while the Nationals probably would have preferred a bit of a softer launch for the young left-hander than this, circumstances dictated that he get the assignment. Parker’s assignment tonight: Somehow try to contain one of the toughest lineups in the sport, especially right off the bat in the bottom of the first. If nothing else, he needs to force them to make contact to get on. Can’t be giving away free bases against the Dodgers.

The Nationals lineup scored six runs Sunday against the Athletics. They’ll need to keep that going tonight against Tyler Glasnow, the hard-throwing former Rays right-hander who now anchors the L.A. rotation. They'll do so with several roster changes announced this afternoon: Nick Senzel has been activated off the 10-day injured list, and Drew Millas has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Rochester, and Keibert Ruiz was placed on the 10-day IL with influenza.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 61 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Nick Senzel
LF Eddie Rosario
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

SAN FRANCISCO – The Nationals swapped a pitcher for a catcher prior to today’s series finale against the Giants, optioning Joan Adon back to Triple-A Rochester following his fill-in start Tuesday night and calling up Drew Millas to give them an extra position player for the time being.

With no need for a fifth starter again until next week in Los Angeles, the Nats decided to demote Adon, who tossed four innings of one-run ball in place of the injured Josiah Gray. Rather than call up another pitcher, they opted to add Millas, who will catch today’s game with Keibert Ruiz under the weather and Riley Adams sitting after starting Tuesday’s game.

Millas played in 11 games with the Nationals late last season, going 8-for-28 with a homer and six RBIs. He was sent to Rochester to begin this season but like the rest of his teammates had to deal with four consecutive postponements due to bad weather and thus has played in only four Triple-A games to date.

“It’s tough,” he said. “You’ve got to push yourself, hold yourself accountable in those scenarios. Honestly, I’ve never been through anything like that before, four straight days of not even remotely having a chance to play.”

Millas was enjoying the solar eclipse Monday afternoon with his fiance when Rochester manager Matt LeCroy called and informed him he needed to pack his things and fly to San Francisco to join the big league club.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It all happened so fast. Most everyone at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie probably didn’t even notice when Drew Millas tapped the top of his catcher’s mask after plate umpire Mark Stewart called a first-pitch curveball from Cole Henry to Jesus Baez low for ball one in the bottom of the second inning of Friday’s “Spring Breakout” prospects game between the Nationals and Mets.

Stewart, though, immediately let the crowd know what was happening, announcing over his microphone that Millas had challenged the call, which would now be reviewed by the Automated Balls and Strikes system.

And lo and behold, there on the scoreboard for everyone in the stadium to see, was a graphic showing the actual location of the pitch, which was indeed in the zone at the knees. Stewart announced the call was reversed, the count switched from 1-0 to 0-1 and play resumed.

The whole process took a handful of seconds from start to finish.

“I just saw the pitch was there,” Millas said, “and tapped my head.”

PROSPECT REVIEW: DREW MILLAS

Age on opening day 2024: 26

How acquired: Traded with Richard Guasch and Seth Shuman from Athletics for Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison and cash in July 2021; originally drafted in seventh round by Athletics in 2019 from Missouri State University

Ranking: No. 22 per MLB Pipeline, No. 28 per Baseball America

MLB debut: Aug. 28, 2023

ATLANTA – The 2023 Nationals didn’t have many defining characteristics, but here are two that stood out: 1) They were excellent at scoring runs in the first inning, and 2) They always battled through the ninth inning (and sometimes beyond).

That combo was on full display during today’s finale. The Nats jumped out to a quick lead, gave it back, then rallied late to re-take the lead and ultimately escape town with an uplifting, 10-9 victory over the Braves in Game 162.

Some of the least experienced players on the roster made it happen. Trailing by a run entering the ninth, rookie catcher Drew Millas drew a bases-loaded walk off Atlanta’s Michael Tonkin to tie the game. Moments later, rookie center fielder Jacob Young drilled a two-run single to not only give his team the lead, but give closer Kyle Finnegan a little bit of cushion for the bottom of the ninth.

"When those moments come as a young guy, you try to do your best and help your team," said Young, who was playing his 33rd big league game. "They're new situations for most of us. To experience those for the first time, you hopefully get used to them for the future."

And when Finnegan finished it off (in spite of a solo Marcell Ozuna homer and a subsequent Michael Harris II double), he secured his 28th save and the Nationals’ 71st victory, a 16-game improvement from the previous season that hasn’t been lost on the players, management or fans.

PITTSBURGH – Everyone involved ended up being OK, so they could laugh about it afterwards. But in the moment, it looked serious and scary.

During Jackson Rutledge’s ragged major league debut on Wednesday, the 24-year-old was most concerned about the 10 hits and seven runs he allowed. Little did he know he needed to be wary of friendly fire, too.

In the bottom of the fourth inning after drawing a one-out walk, Ji Hwan Bae took off to steal second base. Drew Millas, catching his good friend Rutledge’s debut, caught the pitch from the right-hander and popped up to attempt to throw Bae out.

Unfortunately, the ball never reached CJ Abrams covering the bag.

Instead, it ricocheted off the 6-foot-8 pitcher’s head as he attempted to duck out of the way and landed in right field, allowing Bae to advance to third.