Opinion: Abrams should remain part of Nats' plan beyond 2026
CJ Abrams might be the best shortstop in the NL right now, so why would the Nationals want to listen to trade offers for him?
All-Star voting began Wednesday, and anyone who perused the National League candidates at shortstop had to notice that the guy listed first alphabetically also has the best stats of anyone at the position.
CJ Abrams may not be as well-known around the country as Elly De La Cruz, Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor or Dansby Swanson, but he deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence right now. And he deserves serious consideration for the starting job come July 14 in Philadelphia.
Some of this is a product of injuries (Betts, Lindor) and some of this is a product of uncharacteristically poor numbers (Bogaerts, Swanson) through the season’s first two months. But the fact remains Abrams leads the field in home runs (12), RBI (47), on-base percentage (.381), slugging percentage (.522) and OPS (.903) and barely trails the Marlins’ Otto Lopez in bWAR (2.7 to 2.6).
If he’s not the best shortstop in the NL right now, he’s awfully close.
Which is why the ever-present discussion about Abrams’ future with the Nationals has become particularly frustrating.
