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WASHINGTON – Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams were not the only catchers that the Nationals acquired in late July trades.
Washington also picked up backstop Drew Millas, who made a good enough impression that he is part of the Arizona Fall League roster with the Surprise Saguaros.
Millas came to the Nationals in the deal with Oakland that sent veterans Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes to the A’s.
Millas, 23, is a St. Louis native who was drafted in the seventh round by Oakland in 2019 out of Missouri State.
“We are excited to have him, too – a very mature young man,” Mark Scialabba, assistant general manager, player development, told Federal Baseball.
“At the plate, he is a switch-hitter and controls the strike zone very well with good instincts,” added the farm director. “He takes what the pitcher gives to him and knows the strike zone.
“Defensively, he handles pitchers well. He has done a nice job of showing quiet leadership and learning the guys in the system and he has been a model teammate and shows leadership qualities as well.”
The Washington Nationals have acquired RHPs Richard Guasch & Seth Shuman and C Drew Millas from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for C Yan Gomes, INF/OF Josh Harrison and cash considerations.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 30, 2021
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He hit .255 with three homers and 28 RBIs in 59 games with Lansing in Oakland’s system in 2021.
After the trade, he played in 27 games with high Single-A Wilmington in Delaware and hit .284 with no homers and 20 runs driven in.
Overall, he had an OPS of .720 in the 86 games he played in this past year.
Millas was injured in 2019 while with Oakland and didn’t play in the minors that year.
Surprise began the season October 13 – the same day the Nationals wrapped up Instructional League in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Another catcher with Surprise is Israel Pineda, who has been in the Washington system for several years and was part of the alternate site roster in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 2020.
Also, it has been reported that Randy Knorr and Bob Henley, part of the coaching staff for the Nationals in 2021, will be involved in player development next year. Scialabba said he could not comment on what roles Knorr and Henley may have next season.