Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo stated on Friday that his long-term view of CJ Abrams remains unchanged despite the team’s decision to send the All-Star shortstop down to Triple-A last week.
Abrams was sent to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday for the last nine days of the regular season for what the team called an internal matter. The 23-year-old has since reported to Washington’s training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“He’s still our guy,” Rizzo said during an end-of-season discussion with reporters. “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 still in our minds is going to be a great major league shortstop.”
This season, Abrams batted .246 with 20 homers, 65 RBIs, and 31 steals in 138 games, earning his first All-Star selection in July.
Rizzo mentioned that the demotion was due to “family matters” but did not address a tweet claiming that Abrams was at a Chicago casino until 8 a.m. on Sept. 20, just hours before a game against the Cubs. When asked about the reasons behind sending Abrams down, Rizzo referred to the tweet.
“It became public because of the tweet that came out,” Rizzo said. “It was an internal decision that I made for the betterment of the organization.”
Abrams is seen as one of the key players in Washington’s rebuilding efforts. The Nationals obtained him in an August 2022 trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego, and he quickly became an important part of the team.
The Nationals (69-90) have three games left in what marks their fifth consecutive losing season since winning the 2019 World Series. Washington will end the season in fourth place in the NL East after finishing last for the past four years.
