Nationals move CJ Abrams to Triple-A

In a surprising move, the Nationals have signed shortstop CJ Abrams to Triple-A Rochester, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic (via X). Infielder Trey Lipscomb According to Andrew Golden (X-Link) of the Washington Post, this will be called upon in the corresponding step.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Golden and Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com) that Abrams was not added to the team because of his play on the field, but “an internal problem” Matter Martinez did not discuss in detail. Abrams will not play the final two games of the Triple-A season in Rochester, but will instead head to Florida for the Nats' spring training camp. Martinez confirmed that Abrams will not play in the major leagues in 2024, but will remain an important part of the organization's present and future.

It had been just two months since Abrams represented the Nationals in the All-Star Game, as the 23-year-old was named to the NL roster as a reward for his stellar first half. Abrams had a .268/.343/.489 batting average with 15 home runs in 398 at-bats before the All-Star break and looked like a breakout player to everyone in his 23rd season. The sixth pick in the 2019 draft and the centerpiece of the trade package Washington received from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade, Abrams had long been viewed as a future star, and the early results of his 2024 season appeared to be a big step up from his respectable performance in 2023, his first full MLB season.

Since the Midsummer Classic, however, Abrams' performance has slipped. The shortstop has hit just .203/.260/.326 in 204 PA in the second half, and has only rushed for five yards. Abrams' strikeout rate has increased from 20.1% in the first half to 23.53% in the second half, and his line drive rate has dropped from 23.6% to 7.8%. This drop in hard contact shows that Abrams' .243 BABIP since the All-Star break is more than just bad luck with batted balls, and his .307 BABIP in the first half wasn't far above league average anyway.

Despite this ongoing period of weakness, it is clear that Abrams would not have been demoted if it were not for this off-field issue. Whatever the circumstances, the club felt the situation was serious enough to send Abrams this public message as a sort of wake-up call or punishment. There will certainly be some speculation that the Nats may now try to trade Abrams, but Martinez's comments about Abrams' importance to Washington's future seemed designed to end such speculation before it even began. Martinez believes Abrams “will be better“ following the option.

Missing the final nine days of the 2024 season should have no impact on Abrams' Super Two eligibility. As a reminder, “Super Two” players have less than three years of MLB service time but are in the top 22 percent of all players between two and three years old, and thus receive an additional year of arbitration eligibility. Abrams entered the 2024 season with one year and 130 days of service time, and a full season on Washington's active roster would have pushed him to the 2,130 mark — which would have almost certainly qualified him for Super Two status based on the cutoff points of the last 15 years.

However, a player only needs to be on an active roster or the major league injured list for 172 days of the 187-day season to be considered a player with a full year of service. So since Abrams was already with the Nationals past the 172-day limit, he has achieved a full year of service for 2024 and is still on track to become a Super Two player.