CJ

Abrams

Abrams has hit 33 home runs this season. He hit a solo shot off Drew Anderson in the second inning and a two-run shot off Drew Anderson in the seventh inning. That accounted for all of the Nationals’ run scoring in the 3-1 victory over the Tigers. Abrams joined Pete Crow-Armstrong as the only players this season with at least 30 home runs, at least 30 steals and at least 100 RBI. He’s hitting .261 with an .835 OPS and 102 RBI heading into the last four games of the regular season.

Abrams’ home run was his 31st of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Quinn Mathews in the sixth inning. Abrams’ home run is just his second in September. With a week remaining in the regular season, he’s hitting .261 with an .828 OPS and 99 RBI this year.

Abrams is back at second base and hitting cleanup after sitting out Tuesday’s contest with neck tightness. It didn’t sound like a serious concern at the time and he’s back following a one-game absence. He’ll continue to split time between shortstop and second base for the final two weeks of the season.

It turns out that Abrams is dealing with a physical issue after all. It doesn’t sound like a massive concern, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nasim Nuñez get some additional run at shortstop for the remainder of the week.

Nationals skipper Blake Butera is rolling with a righty-heavy approach against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez with Wood and Abrams representing the most prominent names to take a seat. It appears to be a matchup-based decision and not anything from a physical standpoint. Wood has picked up right where he left off prior to last month’s oblique strain, hitting .297 (11-for37) with two RBI and four steals in 10 games since returning from the injured list on September 2. It’ll be Dylan Crews in right field with speedster Nasim Nuñez at shortstop.

Abrams hit a 415-foot homer off Justin Wrobleski to begin the fourth inning. He’s the 15th different shortstop to hit 30 homers in a season at age 25 or younger. Colson Montgomery has also done it this year. The other active players to pull it off are Francisco Lindor (three times), Manny Machado, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Bobby Witt Jr. (twice) and Gunnar Henderson.

Abrams is tentatively back at shortstop after sitting out Monday’s series opener with back tightness. The 25-year-old power/speed combo threat is expected to split time between shortstop and second base over the final couple weeks of the season.

It sounds like a precautionary measure, but back issues can be complex and tricky matters that tend to linger. The 25-year-old was originally slated to start at shortstop in this one. It’ll be Nasim Nuñez taking over in his place. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Butera highlighted Abrams’ strong play at shortstop recently as a motivating factor behind the decision to reverse course on their original plan. There’s a chance the Nationals bring up top prospect Seaver King when rosters expand later this week, which would further complicate the equation. Regardless, it sounds like the club is slowly backing away from a permanent move off the position for Abrams, which is going to be a variable to monitor during the offseason and spring training.

Abrams missed four games after getting hurt last week and then spend the last four games at DH. With the injury setting him back, he still hasn’t played any second base since the Nationals announced his transition.