Nationals Shortstop Gets Exciting Opportunity With Star CJ Abrams Injured

The injury to star shortstop CJ Abrams is bad news for the Washington Nationals, but it's opened the door for another intriguing young player to show what he can do.

Sep 22, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Nasim Nuñez (26) makes a catch on Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya (not pictured) during the second inning at Wrigley Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The news that star shortstop CJ Abrams had to head to the injured list was a huge bummer for the Washington Nationals and their fans.

Abrams was scorching hot, having hit four home runs in just 11 games while crafting a slash line of .244/.289/.585 before suffering a right hip flexor strain.

The Nationals, who were 6-7 prior to the news, now sit at 6-10 after dropping three straight to the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates.

But while they've yet to win a game with Abrams out and a disastrous bullpen, there's still something of a silver lining to the situation.

With a hole in the lineup and on the diamond at shortstop, the window has opened for 24-year-old Nasim Nuñez to show what he can do.

Nuñez, appeared in 51 games last year but was used sparingly, registering just 61 at-bats on his way to slashing .246/.370/.262 while stealing eight bases.

Despite the poor hitting stats, Nuñez was still worth 0.4 fWAR thanks to his ability to get on base, run the bases and provide solid defense.

In Monday night's 10-3 loss to the Pirates, Nuñez made his first appearance of the 2025 campaign, and he made it count.

Facing Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes, Nuñez went 2-for-3 with a double, recovering from a third-inning strikeout against the righty to get the better of him with a two-bagger as the first batter in the sixth.

"Man, that changeup is crazy," Nuñez told MASN Sports' Mark Zuckerman about facing Skenes. "I was telling the umpire on the field: It's something seeing it on TV and the video game. But once you step in that box and see it, I knew I had to make an adjustment real quick."

And adjust he did, as he proved to manager Davey Martinez that he's capable of coming up with big hits against the very best the game has to offer, even if just in one at-bat.

The switch-hitting infielder added a single in the eighth to wrap up an impressive season debut, possibly earning himself even more opportunity moving forward.

Nuñez had never flashed major potential as a hitter at any professional level until this past spring training. There, he slashed .419/.486/.484 to produce a .970 OPS while stealing eight bases.

Nobody is expecting anywhere near that level of dominance from him as a Major Leaguer, but if he can find a way to stick around league-average, he will prove to be an immensely valuable contributor off the bench, given his strengths in the other facets of the game.