Washington Nationals Shortstop Can Be 'Building Block' If He Avoids Trouble
With pitchers and catchers reporting soon for the Washington Nationals, the franchise will be back on the field very soon.
After a few tough years, the Nationals will certainly be excited to get on the field in 2025. It has been a solid offseason for Washington despite not making a major splash in free agency.
The Nationals have been patient with their rebuilding and that is usually the best way to go about it. Washington has done a nice job avoiding lengthy long-term contracts for players that might not help them when the time to compete is truly here.
However, the real bright spot for the franchise is their young core. Especially in the lineup, the Nationals have a ton of young talent that appears nearly ready to prove themselves.
In 2024, one of their talented young players took a significant step forward in the first half of the season, making his first All-Star team.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently spoke about what the future would look like at the shortstop in the next five years. He highlighted that CJ Abrams has the potential to be a star but has to be able to stay out of trouble off the field.
“As long as he avoids the casino on road trips, he can be a long-term building block and early extension candidate.”
It was a tale of two seasons for Abrams in 2024. The talented young shortstop was able to make his first All-Star team thanks to a great first half of the season. The 24-year-old slashed .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.
Abrams was a star in the first half, but unfortunately, those numbers nosedived after the All-Star break. In the second half of the year, he slashed .203/.260/.326 with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
In addition to the struggles at the plate, he was also seen in the casino playing games until the wee hours of the morning, resulting in him being sent down to the minors.
The potential for the 24-year-old to be a star is certainly there as shown by the first half of the season in 2024. Furthermore, the hope has to be that the bad second half of the season and the mistakes off the field were a bit of a wakeup call.
Abrams was one of the key pieces in the trade with the San Deigo Padres for Juan Soto. The Nationals are expecting him to be a star for them and a mainstay in the middle of their infield for years to come.
If the talented young shortstop can stay out of trouble and put together a strong full season in 2025, the conversation will likely turn to potentially giving him a contract extension.
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