The honeymoon phase is officially over for CJ Abrams. The Washington Nationals optioned the 23-year-old shortstop to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. Initially, the move by the Nationals seemed perplexing despite the second-half struggles of Abrams. However, as details emerged, the demotion gained justification.
Abrams got demoted for violating team curfew. He was seen at a Chicago casino at 8:00 a.m. CT on the morning of the Nationals’ game on Friday against the Cubs with the 1:20 p.m. CT pitch.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Abrams got sent back to Washington. He will go to the Nats’ West Palm Beach facility until the end of the season. He won’t play in the majors for the rest of the season.
“I just want it to be known [Abrams’ demotion] wasn’t performance-based,” Martinez said, per Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”
Martinez assured that Abrams would be better following this incident.
Demotion adds to concerns over recent struggles for CJ Abrams.
Abrams was considered the centerpiece of the 2022 Juan Soto trade. Washington acquired the talented young shortstop as part of its haul from the San Diego Padres for Soto. Last season, he settled into his spot with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs.
This season, Abrams became an All-Star, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs in 398 plate appearances. The All-Star experience didn’t carry over into the second half of the season. Abrams hit .203/.260/.326. with five homers and 17 RBIs in 204 plate appearances.
Despite the struggles, Abrams appeared to turn the corner the past week, going 7 for his last 14 with two doubles.
Details and immediate ramifications of demotion
Abrams, 23, reportedly stayed Thursday night into Friday morning, just a few hours before the start of Friday’s game. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in that game. The Nats informed Abrams of the demotion Friday night.
Abrams won’t lose service time from the demotion. He already exceeded the threshold of 172 days on the Nats’ MLB roster. However, he will lose about $30,000 of his $752,000 salary by missing the season’s last week.
Getting demoted for staying out all night at a casino seems harsh, especially for a young player who expects to be a part of the nucleus of a team’s rebuild. Yet, Abrams had been warned about off-the-field issues in the past, per Talk Nats.
There could be other factors in this isolated incident. But demoting your franchise-caliber shortstop and publicly stating it wasn’t performance-based doesn’t sound like a one-time thing for Abrams.
Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo understands he has a young team. The foundation of the clubhouse is young prospects drafted recently or acquired in the Soto and Max Scherzer/Trea Turner trades.
Washington wants to start winning soon. This season, the club has shown flashes of their talented youth. However, the team has 68 wins with eight games remaining. The team won 71 games last season. And now your shortstop blatantly breaks curfew.
The Nationals had to send a message to the rest of the clubhouse. Losing games is acceptable. Players with growing pains and struggling on the field are also allowed. Doing so while showing unprofessionalism isn’t tolerable.
Nationals teammates react to CJ Abrams getting demoted
Teammates commented about Abrams’ situation following the Nationals’ 5-1 win over the Cubs on Saturday. Washington’s pitcher and close friend MacKenzie Gore seemingly didn’t take the news of Abrams’ demotion well.
“CJ’s family. We’ve played together our whole big-league careers. It’s a tough situation for me,” Gore said, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, after pitching seven innings in Saturday’s win. “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.”
Last season, the Nationals demoted second baseman Luis Garcia late into the season. Garcia’s situation was different, but it was the wake-up call he needed. The now 22-year-old Garcia had the best season of his MLB career with a .280 batting average, 16 home runs, 65 RBIs, 25 doubles, and 21 stolen bases — all are career-highs.
“I can speak from my experience with CJ it’s been great,” veteran infielder Joey Gallo said of CJ Abrams, per Zuckerman. “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 his organization.”
Will CJ Abrams use team message as his wake-up call?
The Nationals’ front office is also hoping Abrams learns from this demotion. Hopefully, it’s just a forgettable blemish on an outstanding career. Overall, he had a good year, but the second half of the season and the demotion left a sour note on the 2024 season.
Abrams is eligible for arbitration this offseason for the first time as a Super 2 player. Will his demotion, struggles on the field, and any potential other off-the-field noise affect negotiations? Will it affect the organization’s outlook on him?
The Nationals have a core young talent at every position, including shortstop. Garcia was a shortstop, but the team moved him to second to make room for Abrams. The Nationals drafted Brady House and Sever King in the first round within the past three years as shortstops. That doesn’t include others who have flashed in the minors. The club has plans of playing House and King at other positions, but they can serve as Plan B.
Abrams must regroup and mature from this incident. Ultimately, his future with the Nats depends on it. He has a world of talent and is full of potential. Maybe there’s a reason he struggled to reach his ceiling so far. To become the player he expects to be, he must take the warning and refocus on his craft.
