Less than a week after CJ Abrams was stunningly optioned to Class AAA Rochester in a move the Nationals said was not performance-related, General Manager Mike Rizzo said the shortstop remains in the team’s plans going forward.
Abrams, 23, made his first all-star appearance in July, but he was demoted Sept. 21 after multiple people said he was out all night following a Nationals’ loss last week in Chicago. Manager Dave Martinez said last week the move was “an internal issue.” Rizzo, like Martinez, declined to say whether a social media post that claimed Abrams was out into the morning hours on the day of a game led to the decision. But he did say that a post on X made the ordeal public.
Rizzo said Friday he has been in communication with Abrams’s agent but hasn’t spoken to the shortstop, who spent this week in West Palm Beach, Fla., at the team’s spring training facility. Rizzo said the relationship Abrams and the team had before the incident was strong, leading him to believe that Abrams will respond well heading into next season.
“He got the message loud and clear,” Rizzo said. “We had a long discussion with him. He knows the way we feel about him, the way I feel personally.”
Abrams’s season has been, in many ways, a microcosm of the Nationals’ as a whole. Abrams hit .268 with an .831 OPS in the season’s first half and earned an all-star appearance. But in the second half, his batting average and OPS cratered to .203 and .586.
The Nationals, who entered Friday night’s game against the Phillies at 69-90, have followed a similar trajectory. Washington was 38-39 heading into the final week of June and a half-game out of a wild-card spot thanks to strong starting pitching that masked an underperforming offense. But the summer months brought struggles for a young staff.
Following a series sweep in San Diego in June, the Nationals lost their rhythm. Their offense continued to struggle, even with the debuts of James Wood and Dylan Crews. Entering Friday’s game, Washington is 29th of 30 MLB teams in homers (131) and 26th in slugging percentage (.372). The Nationals’ pitching staff had a 3.83 ERA heading into the series in San Diego; it’s 4.78 since.
“Last year wasn’t the record I wanted, the year before wasn’t a record I wanted, and this year isn’t a record I wanted,” Rizzo said. “The way we did it this year with starting pitching coming on like we saw with the breakout of the young kids and the minor league prospects having a strong season in the minor leagues, I think is progress.”
In the bigger picture, the Nationals have a few more answers than they did a season ago. They have a strong outfield trio in Crews, Wood and Jacob Young, who has become an elite defender. Abrams and second baseman Luis García Jr., the team’s best hitter, anchor the infield. Catcher Keibert Ruiz, still just 26, has struggled to find consistency but is signed through 2030. And on the mound, the Nationals had four starters under 28 make significant contributions to the team’s rotation.
The foundational pieces appear in place, but the team has clear needs, specifically veteran starting pitchers and established hitters at the corner infield positions. The question heading into this offseason remains: Will the Lerners — who decided no longer to explore a sale of the team — invest the financial resources necessary to sign players who could turn the Nationals into contenders again?
“We’re going to see who’s available and what fits that we have up there,” Rizzo said. “I think that it’s time for us to add to the roster because we’ve got a good young core group of guys, and some veteran leadership, I think, is warranted.”
