Blake Butera made the big reveal before the Nationals’ game this afternoon: CJ Abrams is moving to second base going forward.
It’s the kind of switch that stops you in your tracks, especially with Abrams having been the starting shortstop in the All-Star game for the Nationals League. But the move also lines up with what the numbers have been saying about his defense for a while.
Abrams has been a negative defender at shortstop every season of his big league career, with a fielding run value of -7 or worse each year. This season, that trend has only gotten louder. He’s sitting at -13 FRV, which is the worst mark among shortstops in 2025, and he’s also committed more errors than he ever has while posting the lowest fielding percentage of his career.
The Nationals entered the year talking up Abrams’ defensive upside. In Spring Training and early in the season, the coaching staff kept pointing to his athleticism and the possibility that there was still more to unlock on both sides of the ball. But as the season wore on, that optimism around his glove seemed to fade, even as his offense took off under new coaching.
Now the organization is acting on what has been building in plain sight. Moving to second base should ease some of the burden on Abrams, especially with less demand on his arm and not quite as much range required as shortstop asks for.
Still, the change is not a cure-all. His hands remain a concern, concentration has been an issue at times, and learning a new position in the middle of a season is its own challenge.
The transition won’t happen immediately. Abrams is still at shortstop tonight, and he’ll begin playing second base in a few days once he’s up to speed. Nasim Nunez will move over to shortstop, while Abrams will still see some time there once or twice a week.
The move also raises a bigger question about what the future looks like in Washington. On one hand, second base could become a long-term home for Abrams, giving the Nationals a way to build around him for years. On the other, it could also be read as a chance to show other teams that he can handle second base.
That part will have to wait for the offseason. For now, the Nationals have made a bold decision, and Abrams’ new spot on the diamond will be one of the more interesting things to watch down the stretch.
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Brad Lord is among the possibilities to take that opening, and right-hander Luis Perales is also in the mix if the Nationals choose to promote from within. For a team that has kept leaning on young arms and roster flexibility, this is less about one transaction than about how quickly it wants to settle the back end of the rotation while the rest of the staff takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospects Had A Rough Friday For One Frustrating Reason
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The frustrating part for Washington was how quickly some games got away, especially when early runs put the burden on the lineup to keep answering. A few clubs found enough offense to stay in it, while others spent most of the night trying to recover from the pitching side of things, which made the final lines feel more lopsided than the contests had been for stretches. For a prospect-heavy organization, that kind of Friday can leave you with just enough to note and just enough unanswered to keep following the next box score. [Read more 🡒]