CJ

Abrams

One of the two times he was retired came on a double-play ball that had an xBA of .530. Abrams has always hit well against the Dodgers -- he was a career .292/.363/.639 hitter against the Dodgers in 18 games started before this one. He’s gotten off to a .280/.333/.520 start with two homers so far, but fantasy managers would love to see him start stealing some bags as he’s still stuck on zero so far.

Abrams was away from the team Saturday due to a death in his family. Nasim Nuñez will get the start at second base after filling in at short for that contest, and Luis Garcia begins Sunday’s contest on the bench.

The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum reports Abrams is away from the team because of a death in the family. It’s possible he’ll be placed on the bereavement list to open up a roster spot if he’s going to be away from the club for a couple days. It’ll be Nasim Nuñez, who is a strong waiver wire pickup in deeper mixed leagues, taking over at shortstop on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Abrams absolutely crushed the hit off Matthew Boyd in the fourth, with the 110.8 mph liner sailing a projected 361 feet down the right-field line. That would have made it a homer everywhere except Wrigley, which, unfortunately for Abrams, is where the Nationals happened to be playing today. Abrams stood and watched it, resulting in him being thrown out at second by Matt Shaw. The Nationals didn’t respond by sitting him afterwards, but they couldn’t have been pleased by this poor judgment.

Abrams has never posted the OBPs of a traditional leadoff hitter, but it’s bizarre to see the Nationals burying the second or third best hitter in the sixth spot unless it’s simply their way to motivating him to show more plate discipline. Maybe that works out in the long run, though there’s also not much to suggest that Abrams is in the team’s long-term plans anyway. We’d still be OK drafting Abrams, since this is probably a temporary measure.

Abrams got the Nationals on the board in the second inning of this one, plating Andres Chaparro with an RBI single off of Chris Paddack. He was batting in the second inning of this one because the 25-year-old shortstop found himself batting sixth in the Nationals’ lineup instead of his usual perch at the top. He has had a slow spring overall at the plate, slashing .243/.349/.378 with zero homers, two RBI and one stolen base in 43 plate appearances.

The dynamic 25-year-old shortstop struck out against Carl Edwards Jr. to start the game. He then lined out to first and flied out to right before calling it a night. He’s hitting a woeful .154 (4-for-26) with zero homers, one RBI, one stolen base and an 8/5 K/BB ratio over his first 31 plate appearances on the spring.

Abrams just missed out on Super Two eligibility a year ago, so he was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He hit .257/.315/.433 with 19 homers and 31 steals as the Nationals’ shortstop last season. Questions persist about his defense, which is partly why he’s come up in trade rumors, but the Nationals figure to give him one more year to improve his glovework before considering a move to second. He might actually be best in the outfield, but the team has a pretty crowded situation there.

On one hand, Abrams is coming off his best offensive season, slashing .257/.315/.433 with 19 home runs, 92 runs scored, and 31 steals. On the other hand, Abrams has had some off-field issues that led him to be sent to Triple-A by the last management team. With a new president of baseball operations, the Nationals could decide to move on from Abrams and start fresh. The shortstop is projected by MLBTR to make $5.6 million in arbitration next year and will be eligible for free agency after the 2028 season.

García receives his first opportunity at the cold corner after spending the last couple weeks practicing at the spot. The move gets red-hot rookie Nasim Nuñez in the lineup at second base with CJ Abrams back at shortstop. It’s been a down year for the 25-year-old infielder as he’s posed a lackluster .694 OPS with 13 homers and 13 steals across 134 games on the heels of last year’s impressive 18-homer, 22-steal breakthrough campaign.