Washington Nationals Make Extremely Bizarre Move to Discipline All-Star Infielder

With just one week left in the regular season, the Washington Nationals have made an extremely bizarre move with All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams. They have optioned him to the minor leagues.

Per Britt Ghiroli of 'The Athletic:'

The Nationals are optioning CJ Abrams to the minor leagues, sources tell the Athletic. Abrams was an All Star, but has struggled in the second half.

The Nationals are optioning CJ Abrams to the minor leagues, sources tell the Athletic. Abrams was an All Star, but has struggled in the second half.
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) September 21, 2024

Ghiroli is right in that Abrams has struggled in the second half. He's hitting .203 over 49 games. Furthermore, he has just five homers and 17 RBI over that time. That's in stark contrast to his All-Star first half, which saw him hit .268 with 15 home runs.

All that said, Abrams is just 23 years old. He's supposed to be a cornerstone of the organization moving forward, and is this how the organization wants him to treat him heading into a pivotal offseason? It would be one thing if the Nationals were in playoff contention and couldn't afford his struggles, but they are completely out of it, so what is the point of this? Is the confidence gained by a potential good week at Triple-A really worth the potential animosity that Abrams may feel heading into the winter?

UPDATED, 1:07 p.m.: According to Jim Bowden of 'The Athletic,' Abrams was seen out until 8 a.m. Friday morning at Bally’s Casino Chicago. Washington had just lost 7-6 to the Chicago Cubs the night before, and they had a 1:20 p.m. ET game that day.

Abrams went 0-for-3 with a walk on Friday, only a few hours removed from his all-nighter.

The Nationals front office apparently didn't appreciate their star shortstop's decision to stay out so late and optioned him as a result.

CJ Abrams was 8 for his last 17...the NL All-Star was optoned today. Why? because according to witnesses he was out until 8 am at Bally Casino before a 1pm game. #Nationals GM/Prez said not on his watch and to the minor leagues he went.
— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) September 21, 2024

The transaction was made official Saturday afternoon, and infielder Trey Lipscomb was recalled to take Abrams' spot on the roster. And while it was initially announced that Abrams would be heading to Triple-A Rochester, manager Davey Martinez told reporters he would be spending the rest of the year with Class-A West Palm Beach.

Martinez confirmed the move was no performance-based, but would not elaborate beyond that.

Dave Martinez said CJ Abrams will head to Washington, then to West Palm Beach until the end of the season. He won’t play against in the majors.

Martinez: “I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based. It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) September 21, 2024

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Abrams could lose out on $30K in salary by missing the last week of the season. He and the MLB Players Association could file a grievance with the league with they deem the demotion to be unjust, though.

Abrams was acquired back in 2022 in the mega deal that saw the Nationals trade Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.

The Nationals are set to continue their series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field at 2:20 p.m. ET on Saturday. MacKenzie Gore will pitch for Washington, going against Kyle Hendricks.

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