CJ Abrams has spent enough time around trade rumors to know the drill: ignore the noise, keep playing, and don’t let a rough stretch snowball into something bigger. On Monday night, he looked like a player determined to do exactly that.
The Nationals shortstop entered the game with his name back in the rumor mill and his recent numbers sagging. Over the last three weeks, Abrams has hit .188 and ranked 183rd of 184 players in xWOBA, a measure of contact quality and ability to reach base.
The old problem has shown up again, too - chasing pitches down and away. But when he came to the plate in the third inning against Houston, none of that seemed to matter.
Abrams tied the game with a three-run home run, and Washington went on to beat the Astros 12-11. The swing also matched his home run total from last season, giving him 19. Just as important, Abrams said the at-bat felt different in the moment.
“I was relaxed,” Abrams said. “I think being relaxed at the plate, being able to recognize pitches, is good.
That’s when I’m going good. So, just stay relaxed, so I can swing at good pitches and not try to do too much.”
That mindset has become part of Abrams’ routine as the deadline approaches, with his name once again connected to trade speculation. He said last week, “There’s always noise, rumors, stuff like that,” Abrams told The Athletic last week.
“Once again, you can’t let it get to you. You can’t control that.
So might as well just let it happen.”
This is the third time in his professional career that Abrams has found himself in that spot. His answer has been meditation, a habit he leaned on more seriously after his season faded last year. Now it’s part of every day.
“I just kind of sit there until the feeling goes away,” Abrams said. “Whether that’s mad, happy, it’s kind of just feeling it. It’s feeling it, then letting the feelings go.”
He said he can’t remember what first led him to it, but he now makes time for it daily, whether he’s at home or in the team hotel. For Abrams, it’s a way to quiet the pull of the scoreboard and the constant stream of information that comes with being a player in the middle of a season like this one.
“As a human, you have a mind and a body, and they’re connected, so it’s just being able to control it as best as you can,” Abrams said. “It’s harder to control the mind, and especially nowadays, you see all these certain things on your phone and stuff.
It can kind of get to you. But, like I said, just be able to let the feelings go.”
The Nationals’ new coaching staff has been part of the support system, too. Players have said they feel better prepared this season, and there’s been a clear message that the staff won’t tinker unless there’s a real reason.
Abrams’ swing isn’t the issue right now. His breathing might be.
That approach can show up in small ways. Sometimes it’s a moment with James Wood, who hit a 446-foot grand slam Monday to help put the game away.
Sometimes it’s the comfort of being around a team that has learned how to handle deficits. And sometimes it’s just the back-and-forth with first-year manager Blake Butera.
Butera said Abrams will sometimes glance over after starting a night 0-for-2 and say something like, “I know, I need to do something.”
The response is usually quick.
“Yeah, what are you waiting on? The game started an hour and a half ago.”
“It’s just a lot like having fun back and forth, keeping it light, just because we both know how good of a player he is,” Butera said. “I think sometimes you can maybe create more of an issue (by dwelling on it) rather than like just letting them play and have some fun with it.”
Abrams has been productive enough this season to keep the bigger questions hanging in the air. He’s hitting .274 with an .860 OPS, and if that level holds, the conversation around him will only get louder. Whether Butera is still the one having those conversations by season’s end is another matter, especially with a light market for hitters and no meaningful extension talks.
For now, Abrams says he’s focused on the breath, the process and the games in front of him. He also knows the future is part of the picture.
“I think we’re going to be really good,” Abrams said. “We’ve seen it.
We’ve got to keep going, but like I said, the trading stuff and all that is going to take care of itself. I’m just here to win games with the Nats right now.
I think we’re doing a really good job of that. We’re building.”
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