Catcher Elects Free Agency, Ends Tenure with Washington Nationals

With the offseason fresh, the Washington Nationals may now have seen their first player depart the organization.

News broke on Tuesday evening that catcher Riley Adams has elected free agency, ending his tenure with the organization.

Adams, 30, did not appear in a game with the Nationals in 2026 despite entering the season in the mix for the catching job, albeit long shot odds, alongside Keibert Ruiz and Harry Ford. Adams was outright to Triple A Rochester back in late January after the team claimed reliever Gus Varland. Two months later, Adams was then reassigned to a minor league assignment where he appeared in 82 games in Triple A Rochester. Adams ended the season with a .273 batting average, his best since the 2023 season with the Nationals. His 16 home runs in 2026 marked the first time recording double digit home runs in a season since spending time in Double A back in 2019, while his 50 RBIs over the season marked the most since combining for 51 in 2019 after stints in High A and Double A.

Riley first arrived in Washington in the middle of the 2021 season after being traded from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for reliever Brad Hand.

The veteran has played all but 12 of his 263 career games with the Nationals where he owns a .211 batting average with 21 home runs, 73 RBIs and 276 strikeouts. In his last season with the Nationals in 2025, Adams posted eight home runs and 24 RBIs -- both career highs -- in addition to a .186 batting average and .252 OBP across 83 games.

Yet Adams has also struggled with consistency throughout his tenure in Washington and even prior to 2026, never appearing in more than 48 games in any season.

Adams and the Nationals avoided arbitration last November after the Nationals agreed to pay him one million dollars in the majors and 500,000 dollars in the minors. Now, Riley will look for a fresh start elsewhere as Ford and Ruiz look to battle out the catcher job once again in 2027 -- if a 2027 season ends up materializing.

A former third round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, Riley spent just 12 games with the Toronto Blue Jays after beginning his career in the minor leagues. His appearances materialized in 2021, shortly before his move to the Nationals materialized ahead of the trade deadline.