Still searching for answers, Abrams moves down the lineup

CJ Abrams has been the Nationals’ primary leadoff hitter since July 7, 2023. When he wasn’t leading off, he was hitting second.

Until last night when manager Davey Martinez moved his All-Star shortstop down to the No. 7 hole. The idea was simple: Take some pressure off the young star so he can break out of this slump that is endangering his overall season.

Since July 7, the one-year anniversary of his promotion to the leadoff spot, Abrams’ season has been going in a downward spiral. Over 41 games entering last night, he slashed .169/.239/.288 with a .526 OPS, five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 16 RBIs, eight walks and 42 strikeouts.

“I was hoping that he worked some things out and got out of the funk,” Martinez said of the lineup change decision. “I wanted to see how he reacted to everything. And it's been going on for a while. I've been wanting to do it for a while. And I thought, let's do it now and see if we can get him back so he finishes the season off strong. … Nothing wrong with it. I told him, ‘Hey, you’re gonna play. You’re our starting shortstop. Just remember one thing: When the game starts after the first inning, you become a hitter. That’s it.’”

Abrams started last night’s game against the Cubs 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while batting seventh.

But as the Nats put together a rally in the ninth inning, Abrams found himself back at the plate representing the tying run. Facing a left-handed knuckleballer Drew Smyly, he ran the count full and was able to keep the line moving.

A small moment for the Nats in an eventual loss. But a big moment for Abrams in his journey back to his early season success.

“I just gotta stay ready,” Abrams said. “Coming in the third inning to hit is a little different. Just had to put together good at-bats. Try to make things happen.”

“Look, he got a very important at-bat and a big walk for us,” Martinez said. “And he's trying earlier to work some counts, take some strikes. Like I said, he was getting pounded right away. But he got a big walk for us in that last inning, which I love. So we'll build off of that.”

The main thing the Nats want Abrams to work on is slowing his feet down in the batter’s box. He’s getting his front foot down so fast when getting ready to swing that it has thrown off his timing. By slowing down that part of his approach, he should be able to square up the baseball better.

“He was staying back a little better,” Martinez said. “He wasn't jumping out there. My big thing with him is we gotta get him to slow his legs down. He's getting out there, and then he's got really nothing to swing with middle-away. He just doesn't really have anything to swing with out there. So we gotta get him to stay back a little bit and not jump at the baseball, but slow his legs down a little bit. When you slow your legs down, your hands kind of speed up a little bit. So we gotta get him to slow his legs down.

“He's had that before. And once we got him to slow down and really get his foot down in time, he was able to get on top of the baseball a little better and really hit the ball the middle-away a lot better. We'll get it. We're not gonna quit, that's for sure.”

Martinez also hopes Abrams benefits from watching his left-handed teammates bat before him so he’s not the first one to face the opposing pitcher and not knowing what’s going to be thrown at him.

“I want him to focus on watching some of the other guys’ at-bats and see what the pitcher is doing for a little bit until he goes up there,” Martinez said. “He gets to see a couple of lefties, like (James) Wood and (José) Tena, hit in front of him to see what the pitcher is trying to do to them and focus on something like that. Instead of being the first guy and not knowing, really, what you’re going to get. Hopefully, he’ll understand what the guy is trying to do and see what the balls are doing.”

Always more worried about the team than himself, Abrams took the move down the lineup in stride. He hopes he'll feel less pressure and that hitting seventh will help him relax more, too.

“Kind of getting out of my head as well,” he said. “Just going out there and having fun playing baseball. I'm here for a reason. I just have to believe in myself.”

The spot in the order doesn’t change his approach, technique-wise. In fact, Abrams is approaching it like nothing has changed at all. He still just has to slow down.

“You just gotta stay locked in,” he said. “Just the time and order. Not too much different. Still gotta hit the baseball, right?”