Two weeks ago today, the Washington Nationals announced that they were planning to move star shortstop CJ Abrams to second base. However, for a variety of reasons, Abrams has still yet to play the position. The longer that remains the case, the more awkward this situation will get for the Nats.
From a purely statistical perspective, moving
Abrams off short makes a lot of sense. He is one of, if not the worst defensive shortstop in the game. Abrams has also had years to improve defensively, but has just not taken the required leap. However, the timing of the move was curious.
Instead of waiting until the end of the season, the Nats forced the issue, switching their star’s position in the dog days of summer. While the Nats were struggling due to trades and the injury of James Wood, the new regime decided to unsettle Abrams.
Despite not being a good defensive shortstop, Abrams takes a lot of pride in playing the position. He has been a shortstop his whole life and sees himself as “the captain of the infield” when he is playing short. With this in mind, it seems like this was a decision that should have come in the offseason.
There was never going to be a perfect time to make this needed decision. However, I think the move would have been less messy in the offseason. As it stands, Abrams has reluctantly agreed to switch positions. Even his agent said that Abrams was “uneasy” about the move but was willing to put the team first.
With all this in mind, the fact that Abrams still has not played second is a bit awkward. One important piece of context to consider is his ankle injury though. It seemed like Abrams was close to finally making the move, but during the Texas series he rolled his ankle. This caused him to miss a few games, and he has only been a DH since.
However, the Nats were planning on putting Abrams back in the field the other day. They had him go through pre-game workouts, but it was determined he was not ready to go yet. Confusingly, Abrams was set to play shortstop that game, not second base.
I get he was coming back from an injury, but what does that injury prevent him from playing second base? This whole situation is just becoming a distraction for the entire team and Abrams in particular. The clear solution to this issue is to just pull off the band-aid and play him at second. I wish they waited until the offseason, but at this point you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Making this ordeal even more awkward is the fact that Abrams has been in a deep slump since the position move. After winning player of the month in July, Abrams is hitting below .200 in August. Abrams came into the second half with a point to prove and looked to crush the narratives about his second half struggles.
It looked like he was on his way to doing that, but this situation has brought his momentum to a halt. Everybody involved in this does not look great right now. From the outside, it is easy to look at this situation and say that Abrams is not handling this very well. His play and enthusiasm have taken a noticeable dip since the announcement. Even that play where he hurt his ankle could have been prevented if Abrams was running harder and slid.
For the new regime, it seems like they made a star player unhappy and unsettled without much of a reason. It is not like Abrams is being moved off the position for a super star or an exciting prospect like Eli Willits or Seaver King. They are just swapping him and Nasim Nunez. Is that move really worth all the trouble it is causing?
The longer Abrams is not at second base, the weaker the team looks as well. We do not know what is going on in the building, but from the outside you can make a narrative that Abrams is dragging his feet. Why would Abrams go back to short after the injury?
In the long term, this should work itself out. However, the longer Abrams is not at second base, the weirder this looks. I hope to see Abrams playing second sometime this weekend. It would remove a distraction from a clubhouse that needs to come together over this final month of the season.
