Nationals Moving CJ Abrams To Second Base

It’s a notable move but not necessarily a surprising one. Abrams is a very talented baseball player but he has often looked overmatched as a shortstop defender. He has 5,297 innings at that spot in his career thus far. He has been credited with minus-11 Defensive Runs Saved, including minus-5 this year. The Outs Above Average metric has given him an eye-popping minus-63 grade in his career, worst in the majors for the 2022-26 span, regardless of position. That included minus-17 this season, again the worst tally in the majors regardless of position.

Throughout the baseball industry, including here at MLBTR, people have wondered when he might be moved to second base, third base or center field. Now it seems the Nats are going to try him on the other side of the second base bag.

That reduces his value in a sense, as a premium shortstop is generally worth more to teams than a strong second baseman, but he clearly wasn’t going to stick at short for the long term. His experience at second base is limited, as he got 66 innings there with the Padres in 2022 but hasn’t been there since.

Regardless of where he lines up on defense, he will be a valuable player since he is one of the best offensive performers in the league. He has 29 home runs and 23 stolen bases already this year. His .284/.357/.541 line translates to a 143 wRC+, indicating he has been 43% better than league average at the plate overall. That’s a top-ten mark among qualified hitters this year.

It’s interesting timing for Abrams and the Nats. The club has been in rebuilding mode for a while and clearly isn’t prioritizing the near future. MacKenzie Gore was traded in the most recent offseason when he still had two seasons of club control remaining. Washington flirted with contention this year but still acted as sellers at the deadline. They traded away impending free agent Foster Griffin but also Luis García Jr., who isn’t slated for free agency until after 2027, and Curtis Mead, who is controlled through 2030.

Abrams is slated for free agency after 2028, meaning the Nats still have him for the rest of this season and two further campaigns. He has already been in trade rumors for a while but remains with Washington. Perhaps that is related to some questions in his profile. In both 2024 and 2025, he hit great in the first half but faded down the stretch. Time will tell whether 2026 will be a similar story. He was great through July but has a .235/.278/.373 line so far in August. On top of that, his future positional home has been an ongoing question.

Going forward, the Nats will have to make some choices on Abrams. If he is a part of the club’s future, then perhaps they could look to extend him. If not, then it makes sense to put him on the trade block while his value is still quite high. As his window of club control shrinks and his arbitration salary rises, his value will go down. Similarly, as he approaches free agency, his asking price in extension talks will go up.

Those upcoming decisions may hover over the coming offseason. Before the long, cold winter arrives, the Nats will get some looks at Abrams at second and see how it goes. Other clubs will surely be watching with interest as well.

Nuñez has been the club’s primary second baseman this year, so it’s an easy switch for the short term. He doesn’t hit much but is a strong defender and baserunner. He has a .230/.315/.267 line this year but leads the major with 40 stolen bases. His defensive grades at both second and shortstop have been above average in his career. In the short term, it could be a net positive for the Nats if Abrams is competent at the keystone.

With his lack of offense, Nuñez is surely not the long-term answer at shortstop. Zoom out far enough and the top guess is Eli Willits. The top pick in last year’s draft, he is one of the best prospects in the league but he isn’t coming anytime soon. He is 18 years old and is only at the High-A level.

Before Willits arrives, it’s possible Seaver King gets a look. Washington’s first-round pick in 2024, he is currently at the Triple-A level and playing well, though he is a divisive prospect. Most evaluators consider him a top 100 talent but FanGraphs is far more skeptical, placing him 30th in the Nats’ system due to concerns he is a future utility guy rather than a future shortstop. Whether it’s in the latter stages of this season or at some point in 2027, the shortstop position is more open for King to get a look.

Photos courtesy of Scott Marshall, Isaiah J. Downing, Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images