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<\/p>\nThe agent of two-time All-Star CJ Abrams said his client remains uneasy about the Washington Nationals\u2019 decision to move him from shortstop to second base, a change that could have repercussions on the diamond, in the clubhouse and at the negotiating table.<\/p>\n
But three days after the announcement, both Abrams\u2019 camp and the Nationals\u2019 front office praised each other as strong partners in the decision, signaling a desire to find common ground despite lingering disagreement about the timing and the necessity of the position change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, first, CJ was not thrilled about the decision to move him off shortstop at this time,\u201d Abrams\u2019 agent, Mike Sanders of Roc Nation Sports, told The Athletic. \u201cBut his priority is to win games for the Nationals and to be a team-first player, so that is what he\u2019s going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abrams is well-aware that he needs to improve defensively. Still, there are some chasms to close.<\/p>\n
Sanders doubled down on Abrams\u2019 assertion that he views himself as a shortstop long-term, and indicated that his client intends to spend the winter focused on improving his defense at his preferred position. Sanders believes Abrams has earned an offseason to prove that he can stick at short.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always viewed himself as a shortstop short-term and long-term, and would love to have the offseason under this front office to be able to work on that,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI believe CJ can be a very good shortstop, and without having an offseason to specifically train at the position using the information and feedback this staff has given him, I don\u2019t think we have a full evaluation yet of how good he can truly be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said the team is trying to be considerate of Abrams, who remains a franchise pillar on the field and in the clubhouse. Sanders, like others who have dealt with the organization this year, appreciated Toboni\u2019s transparency.<\/p>\n
But while the Nationals hope to serve their All-Star as best they can \u2014 they spent a ton of time mulling the possibility before discussing it at length with Abrams, then the public \u2014 they will ultimately prioritize what they feel is best for the team, even without a guarantee it will shake out as the right move in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m CJ, of course I\u2019m upset,\u201d Toboni told The Athletic. \u201cIt\u2019d be weird if he wasn\u2019t. CJ has been a shortstop for his whole life, and it\u2019s a huge part of his baseball identity. If I didn\u2019t sense he was upset, I\u2019d be worried that he wasn\u2019t being real with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toboni praised Abrams\u2019 willingness to roll with the change, while also acknowledging the strong feelings in the aftermath of what he termed a \u201cdifficult conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a place where we just think through what is best for the team, then we do it without considering other factors,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cNo, we think about CJ and how this impacts him personally because he\u2019s a huge part of this org. And it\u2019s our job to consider all these factors, decide the best path possible, and do our best to communicate to CJ, Mike and everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Nasim Nu\u00f1ez grades out as the better defender at shortstop compared to CJ Abrams, who ranks last in MLB in several defensive metrics this season and has graded poorly in recent years. (Mitchell Leff \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The timing of this move \u2014 after the trade deadline, but before free agency \u2014 remains a preeminent curiosity and point of contention.<\/p>\n
Consider Abrams\u2019 season for a moment: the 25-year-old is in the middle of an offensive breakout, trailing only Yordan Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani, James Wood, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Junior Caminero in FanGraphs\u2019 offensive value this year.<\/p>\n
He also ranks last in MLB in several defensive metrics and has also graded poorly in recent seasons despite his athleticism, which led to the team\u2019s decision to move him to second base, a less demanding position. Nasim Nu\u00f1ez, a stellar defender with a career .605 OPS, will make the switch from second to short.<\/p>\n
Abrams is a player who is both imperfect and essential to a team that has far exceeded its gloomy preseason projections. His clubhouse presence and offensive output have carried the Nats thus far, and if the decision goes awry, both could be disrupted by the public nature of the in-season move.<\/p>\n
Toboni acknowledged that the timing would have been imperfect no matter when they made the decision, which Sanders conceded as well, but the new president of baseball operations ultimately thought it offered the best balance of helping the team in 2026 and giving Abrams a \u201cgood sample of games\u201d to develop and see how he performs at second base.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, Toboni said, \u201cit also allows us to see what makes the most sense for CJ and the team in 2027 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the Nationals have not explicitly or publicly defined Abrams\u2019 future defensive home \u2014 and why would they after this switch \u2014 Sanders said he believes Abrams can still become a very good defensive shortstop, pointing to his athleticism and his consistent improvement in other aspects of his game, including the work he did this winter to fuel his offensive breakout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just where I\u2019ve been playing my whole life,\u201d Abrams said on Friday, as he largely opted to shelter his feelings on the matter. \u201cI believe I can be a great shortstop.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Abrams, a free agent after the 2028 season, the position change comes with financial consequences. All else being equal, shortstops are more valuable than second basemen in the field and on the market. Though the Nationals are teeming with shortstop depth in the minor leagues, they also sport one of MLB\u2019s smallest payrolls, which arouses interest around a possible contract extension.<\/p>\n
Sanders declined to talk about the prospect of an extension and whether this move impacts the possibility in the future, but painted Abrams as pleased to be in Washington, an assertion that the shortstop has similarly indicated over the course of this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cCJ\u2019s enjoyed his time in D.C. and, as long as he\u2019s with the Nationals, his focus is going to be on being the very best player he can be and winning as many games with the Nationals as he can,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThe very best player and teammate he can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the subject of finances: There is an impulse to look at the high end of the salary spectrum and note that the number of shortstops making big-time money is much larger than the number of second basemen doing the same. Though $300 million deals for shortstops are possible, they are without precedent for second baseman.<\/p>\n
These are relevant data points for Abrams, who is tracking toward playing in the deep end of the financial pool if he maintains his production before hitting free agency or signing an extension.<\/p>\n
Position changes haven\u2019t always been damaging for guys like Abrams who came up as shortstops. Alex Rodriguez signed his first mega-deal as a shortstop, then opted out and signed a bigger one as a third baseman with the Yankees. Marcus Semien is another example. And last winter, Bo Bichette signed for more than $40 million per year to move off short with the Mets.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for Abrams, he could very well be \u201cincredible\u201d at second base over the final six weeks, as his manager, Blake Butera, said on Friday. Even given the challenges that come with a mid-season switch, Abrams\u2019 current defensive strengths \u2014 his lateral movement, in particular \u2014 suggest he could handle second base down the stretch.<\/p>\n
Questions will remain as to whether his offense can hold up or his defense can improve.<\/p>\n
The overarching curiosity, though, will be how this defines a key relationship for the club. When Abrams stayed out too late at a casino in 2024, the former front office responded by demoting him through the end of the season. That the Nationals\u2019 new front office is handling this now, and out in the open, indicates that they are at least confident in their ability to manage it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the meetings with Blake and I, CJ was very forward with the following: it\u2019s all about the Nats,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about the team. That\u2019s a huge part of why we have huge love for CJ, even through these difficult conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 The Athletic\u2019s Tim Britton contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The agent of two-time All-Star CJ Abrams said his client remains uneasy about the Washington Nationals\u2019 decision to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99,2331],"class_list":["post-817632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-washington-nationals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}