Should Washington Nationals Move CJ Abrams to Third Base?
The Washington Nationals have finished up the 2024 season and are looking forward to the offseason as they prepare for 2025.
This winter will be an important one for the Nationals as they try to take the next step forward as a franchise. Considering they won 71 games this campaign, Washington will surely be looking to jump into the 80s in 2025.
The Nationals should have some money to spend this offseason to improve their team, as they can add an arm in the rotation, a few relievers, and certainly a first baseman who can be a middle of the order hitter.
Even though the Nationals were only a 71-win team this year, the franchise is heading in the right direction. Washington has been stockpiling and developing a lot of young talented players, and many of them are making an impact in the Majors already.
One player who took a nice step forward this season was shortstop CJ Abrams. The young shortstop was selected to his first All-Star team this season, as one of the big pieces from the Juan Soto trade is starting to really make an impact.
This season, Abrams totaled a .246 batting average, 20 home runs, 65 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases. While the campaign overall for the slugger was good, it could have been even better if not for a really poor second half of the season.
However, despite the poor performance in the second half, Abrams is definitely a building block for the team.
While the offensive numbers look good for Abrams, his defensive stats are very concerning. According to advanced stats from FanGraphs, the young shortstop was the worst defensive shortstop by a wide margin among those players who qualified.
The biggest issue for Abrams at shortstop was his StatCast stats regarding his range. In the middle of the infield, especially on the left side, it is important to be able to move well and cover a lot of ground. The advanced stats for the All-Star show that he has pretty poor range at the position.
As the worst defensive shortstop in the league in 2024 according to FanGraphs, Washington would be wise to consider moving him to third base. Having a big defensive liability at one of the most important defensive positions on the field is a recipe for trouble, and if range is the main issue, moving Abrams to third makes a lot of sense.
Furthermore, third base was considered to be a position of need for Washington in the offseason. While the Nationals would need to replace him at shortstop, Abrams has been a defensive liability.
