Nats demote All-Star Abrams for non-baseball reasons (updated)

CHICAGO – CJ Abrams’ 2024 season is over, and not for any baseball-related reasons.

The Nationals optioned Abrams to Triple-A Rochester this morning, a stunning transaction at this late stage of the season that club officials said was made not for performance or service-time reasons.

“It’s an internal issue,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I’m not going to get into specifics, or talk about specifics, because I need to keep these guys and everything on the down-low. I’ve got other guys out there I want to support. I’m going to support CJ. He’s a big part of our Nats family, and he will be. But at this point, for me, it’s the right thing to do.”

Abrams, who earned the first All-Star selection of his career with an impressive first half, had been mired in a prolonged slump since July but had one of his best games in months Thursday night when he went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two stolen bases in the Nats’ 7-6 loss to the Cubs. He was back in the lineup Friday afternoon and went 0-for-3 with a walk, then was summoned to Martinez’s office for a long postgame meeting and was informed he was being demoted.

Prior to the game, an X post from Cody Delmendo of CHGO Sports said Abrams “was at the Bally’s casino in the loop until 8 am this morning,” citing a source. Asked about that report, Martinez said: “I’m not going to get into any specifics. I’m going to handle this internally.”

Though he officially was optioned to Triple-A, Abrams will not be reporting to Rochester, which concludes its season Sunday. He was set to return to Washington today, then will head to West Palm Beach, Fla., and spend the final week of the season working out with several other Triple-A players who are being sent there to stay ready in case the big league club needs to make any roster moves.

General manager Mike Rizzo did not speak to reporters prior to today's game.

The demotion will have no impact on Abrams’ qualifying for “Super-Two” arbitration status this winter. He has already accrued enough service time to pass that threshold, which rewards the top 22 percent of players with more than two but fewer than three years of big league service time an extra year of arbitration, and thus a significant salary bump heading into 2025.

The Nationals are taking a risk, though, in essentially disciplining Abrams right now, hoping he responds to his demotion well and returns to play well next spring with no lingering issues.

“I assure you that he’ll be better. He will be,” Martinez said. “We talked a long time yesterday, and last night before we made any decisions. I know that he wants to be here. He expressed that very much. He’s going to miss his teammates. But without getting into any details, this was the right thing to do.”

One of the key prospects acquired in the August 2022 blockbuster that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres, Abrams has since become one of the key faces of the Nationals’ rebuild. Popular with teammates and fans, he plays with charisma and burst onto the national stage this season while hitting 20 homers and stealing 31 bases to go along with a .747 OPS. He’s the fifth player in club history to reach 20 homers and 20 steals in the same season.

Martinez does on occasion lovingly refer to Abrams (and a few other young players on the roster) as “knuckleheads,” acknowledging his big personality and immaturity but supporting him as he grows as a player and person.

That made Friday’s postgame meeting emotional for the seventh-year manager.

“We had our moments. We sat here and we wept together,” he said. “But as I always say, it’s about taking care of the person first and not the player. And I’m going to do everything I can to help him. I love the kid. He’s a good kid. He’s going to be back.”

The Nationals recalled infielder Trey Lipscomb to take Abrams’ roster spot. Nasim Nuñez started at shortstop today, with José Tena at second base and Ildemaro Vargas at third base. Luis García Jr., who missed the last three games with a sore wrist, was back in today’s lineup but served as designated hitter.

Teammates spoke out in support of Abrams after the 5-0 win.

“CJ’s family,” left-hander MacKenzie Gore said. “We’ve played together our whole big-league careers. It’s a tough situation for me. I’m always going to be (there) for CJ in this situation. It’s interesting. It was a tough day hearing that. You care about him, so it was tough. We’re close. He’s family. And you know, you lose your best player. It’s a tough day.”

“I can speak from my experience with CJ. It’s been great,” first baseman Joey Gallo said. “He’s still a young kid, and I think we all make mistakes. We’ve all talked to him to keep his head up. He really has had a fantastic year. He’s really a high-character guy. He plays the game the right way every day. And he’s a great teammate. I’ve been honored to be able to play with him and share the field with him. Hopefully he can learn from this and move on and continue to be a great player for this organization.”