Nasim

Nuñez

Nuñez enters the contest sitting on 49 stolen bases for the season, so if he gets on base expect him to run wild in an attempt to hit that 50-steal plateau. For the season, the 26-year-old infielder is slashing a paltry .208/.292/.241 with one homer, 36 RBI and 49 stolen bases (59 attempts).

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.

While he’s active and in uniform on Sunday, the 26-year-old speedster is not in the Nationals’ starting lineup for the club’s series finale against the Angels. Eddy Yean was optioned to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move to clear a spot on the Nationals’ active roster.

He’ll miss an undetermined amount of time, but most bereavement list stays are fairly short. Nuñez leads the league with 46 stolen bases this year despite hitting .210/.290/.244.

Nuñez went 0-for-1 with a walk, a steal, and a run scored before Brady House pinch-hit for him. His 46 thefts lead the majors this season. He’ll have a good chance to win the stolen-base title now that Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has 40, hit the IL on Wednesday. Nuñez is also one steal away from tying CJ Abrams’ club record of 47, set in 2023.

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.

The light-hitting infielder smacked a Janson Junk offering off the wall in right field to break a scoreless tie in the home half of the fifth inning. Nuñez finished the afternoon 1-for-3 and is now slashing .215/.296/.251 with one homer, 35 RBI and 43 stolen bases on the season.

No word yet on the reason for the swap. Nasim Nuñez takes over at shortstop with CJ Abrams moving to DH and José Tena getting the nod at second base.