Belleville’s Millas savoring shot in the big leagues and win over Cardinals
Drew Millas didn’t have any extra visitors or have to make any special arrangements when his childhood favorite team visited his current employer at Nationals Park this week.
It’s certainly not as if being in the big leagues is old hat, but with familiarity and stability comes a greater sense that there will be more opportunities, less need to rush and more desire to settle into a routine.
He’s also not exempt from laying down a little smack talk — when the time is right.
“A lot of friends and family texting,” Millas said Tuesday in front of his locker in the nation’s capital. “All my friends are Cardinal fans. Family, we all grew up Cardinal fans. So when I beat the Cardinals, it’s extra special.”
He opted to stay on the safe side of the line after Washington’s series-opening victory Monday, offering a few thumbs-up and laughing reactions to group texts, hoping the Nationals can lock down a series win before he leans all the way into well-intentioned gloating.
His sixth-inning walk Monday night proved key in wearing down the Cardinals bullpen and setting the stage for a dramatic eighth-inning rally in what became a 9-6 Washington win — and it was a spot in which there was no guarantee he would appear at all.
The Belleville East and Missouri State alumnus found himself in a precarious roster position over the winter. With the Nationals already having a significant contractual commitment to catcher Keibert Ruiz, the team’s new leadership, headed by Paul Toboni, traded for catcher Harry Ford from the Seattle Mariners — one of the game’s top prospects behind the plate and someone on the verge of making a real impact in the majors.
Along with the squeeze from both sides of the roster, Millas was still recovering from a badly broken and dislocated left index finger he suffered last August that required surgery. The finger was still wrapped and stabilized Tuesday as he discussed learning to play with it and the changes he has had to make to both his swing and his receiving to accommodate the injury.
Despite all that, the Nationals entered the season with the switch-hitter in more or less an even timeshare with Ruiz, leaning on Millas’ experience behind the plate and his eagerness to integrate data that has become central to a more finely honed focus on analytics throughout Washington’s system.
“Everybody’s really progressive, and everybody’s really bought into the process and the preparation,” he said. “I’ve always kind of had that mindset and kind of done a lot of that on my own. Having people to help push me along and give me more and more guidance on it has been really, really beneficial.”
Under former president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, the Nationals had a reputation as one of the game’s least forward-thinking franchises, tied to old conventions around player archetypes and development that arguably played a large part in the franchise’s fall from legitimate contention in the immediate aftermath of its 2019 World Series championship.
Millas was drafted by Oakland that summer and, two years later, was shipped to Washington as part of one of the many trades the Nationals made to tear down the roster and bring in young talent.
Five years later, having earned his way up through the minor leagues and worked his way into becoming a trusted part of the development apparatus for so many teammates, he’s getting his first shot at extended time in the big leagues at age 28. He’s the first Lancer to reach the majors since left-hander Randy Wells spent five seasons primarily with the Cubs, last pitching in 2012.
This opening day was Millas’ first in the majors, and with Washington opening on the road in Chicago, he was able to share the moment with his family.
“It was a really, really cool first time, especially at Wrigley,” he said. “We opened with some really good competition, a really good test to start the year. Some things didn’t go our way, but at the end of the day, it feels like we’re getting better every day.”
Even as Millas has earned and held his roster spot, there’s no doubt it will take hard work and a little good luck to remain in the majors, as it does for everyone who’s able to take that step. Ruiz appears to be holding up well behind the plate despite a history of concussion issues, and Ford is the priority catcher for Triple-A Rochester, though he has gotten off to a slow start at the plate.
There is an ever-present balance between being comfortable enough to perform at your best while also embracing the push of competition that challenges a roster spot every day. That, too, is among the things Millas will have to learn to navigate at full speed, even as he lives out his dream.
“I still get the butterflies for the game, but when I’m out on the field, I’m a little bit more calm, a little bit more controlled,” he said. “I can’t ever feel like I’m complacent. Complacency is kind of the enemy here. Just learning not to get complacent, but also just be myself, be comfortable in my own skin. A lot of that stuff’s progressed, for sure.”