Washington Nationals Still Believe in CJ Abrams Despite Demotion
The Washington Nationals saw a lot of improvements in 2024, as the franchise was able to have an impressive 16-win jump from 2023.
This campaign for the Nationals was all about seeing their young players grow and develop, with the hope of it leading them to some more wins. That was certainly the case, as the team did better as their players improved.
Washington has been very patient in their rebuild, as they have let some bad contracts expire and don’t seem to be rushing things. This approach is working so far, as they have a plethora of young talent on the team, and the future seems bright.
However, with significant improvement in 2024, 2025 now might come with some expectations for the franchise. Depending on what happens for the team in free agency, this feels like an organization that could take a jump and be at least in the playoff conversation next year with a few additions.
Furthermore, while what happens in free agency will have to wait, the Nationals do have a few budding stars, one of which being shortstop CJ Abrams. The 24-year-old was selected to his first All-Star team in 2024, but despite the accolade, it was a roller-coaster season for him.
With some struggles in the second half of the season and some off the field issues at a casino in the morning, Washington elected to send him down to finish the season in the minors. Despite this, general manager Mike Rizzo still believes that Abrams is going to be a key piece for the team moving forward.
“He’s still our guy. We love him, and he’s going to be a great player for us. Optioning him out wasn’t the end of the world. We have a standard here, and we have to keep people accountable. He still has a great upside, and he’s still going to be – in our minds – a great major league shortstop.” – Mike Rizzo to Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.
Hopefully, the end of the 2024 campaign was just a bump in the road for Abrams, and that the young shortstop learns from it.
When things are going right, the 24-year-old has shown that he can be one of the best hitting shortstops in the league. However, there is still a lot of work to be done defensively, as his range at the position needs to improve.
As the organization heads into 2025, they should still believe in the type of player that Abrams can be as an All-Star in 2024. However, they must be mindful of what the second half of the season looked like.
