NEW YORK (AP) — All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams is moving to second base for the Washington Nationals, vacating the only position he's played during his five seasons with the club.
Manager Blake Butera said Friday that Abrams has begun working out at second. He said the transition will be more "multiday than multiweek" and that Abrams will swap spots with second baseman Nasim Nuñez.
"Just thought this was the best thing for our team going forward," Butera said. "We think with those two up the middle and Nasim playing more shortstop gives us the best chance."
Butera said Abrams was amenable to the move while noting that shortstops take pride in playing the position — something Abrams also acknowledged.
"That's just where I've been playing my whole life," said Abrams, who led off and played shortstop Friday night against the New York Mets. "I believe I can be a great shortstop."

#second #nasim

Despite losing the series to the Cubs, the Nats ended things on a high note thanks to a Cade Cavalli masterclass. He helped secure a winning home stand and the bats continued to thrive. Now the Nats head to New York to face a last place Mets team. However, the Mets have been playing a bit better lately.
The Nats have quite the interesting lineup today. Jose Tena has played the outfield late in games, but today he will be in left field to start. Jacob Young will be in center and Daylen Lile will move over to right. Brady House will be the DH, while Jorbit Vivas plays third and Nasim Nunez is at second. Andrew Alvarez looks to build off of back to back impressive outings.
Juan Soto is out of the lineup for the Mets, but we will be seeing Francisco Lindor. The Mets shortstop missed a couple months this season. In a disappointing season, the young duo of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing has been a bright spot for this team. Journeyman Robert Stock will be on the mound tonight.
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#young #back

CJ Abrams was the starting shortstop for the National League All-Star team this year. But the Washington Nationals will be transitioning him to second base during the rest of the season, manager Blake Butera announced on Friday.
In Abrams' place, Nasim Nuñez will eventually become the Nationals' starting shortstop. But those who follow the team — and its minor-league prospects — wonder if Seaver King, ranked No. 4 in the Washington system by MLB.com, could soon take over at that position.
Abrams, 25, has had an outstanding offensive season for the Nationals with a slash line of .284/.357/.541 with 29 home runs, 23 doubles, 23 stolen bases and an MLB-leading 91 RBI.
However, he has not been an All-Star in the field. Among traditional statistics, Abrams leads MLB shortstops with 19 errors in 113 games (112 starts).
Advanced metrics credit Abrams with -5 Defensive Runs Saved this season and -17 Outs Above Average. His DRS total ranks fourth-worst and his OAA figure is last among MLB shortstops with enough innings to qualify for consideration (700 or more) this season. For his career, Abrams is tagged with -11 DRS and -63 OAA.

#season #starting #team

Less than a month after he was the starting shortstop for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game, C.J. Abrams is no longer a shortstop.
The Washington Nationals made the decision to swap Abrams and second baseman Nasim Nuñez for the remainder of the 2026 season. Manager Blake Butera told reporters Friday, Aug. 14 that the team wanted to give Abrams more time at shortstop, but that moving him to second and Nuñez to shortstop gives them a better chance to win.
Abrams, 25, has been one of the NL's best hitters amid a surprising season in D.C. Through Aug. 13, he's slashing .284/.357/.541 with 29 home runs and a major league-best 91 RBIs.
MORE: Two-time All-Star might have thrown final pitch for Nationals
An All-Star for the second time in the last three seasons, Abrams wasn't voted to start on the strength of his glove.

#abrams #shortstop #season

Last night Nats fans saw something odd and unique. We saw the back end of the Nationals bullpen come in and lock down a game. The trio of Yovanny Cruz, Orlando Ribalta and Clayton Beeter were lights out last night. They did not allow a single hit in their three innings of work.
It was only one game, but for the first time all season I felt like the Nats had a back end of the bullpen that could bring real success. Cruz, Ribalta and Beeter all have filthy stuff and have the ability to get out of tight situations. We saw Cruz bail out Cade Cavalli last night with some help from Nasim Nunez.
That trio, at least last night, is what a back end of a bullpen is supposed to look like. All three of them throw in the upper 90's, or triple digits in Cruz's case. However, they also have elite secondary pitches to back up those heaters. Beeter and Cruz have electric sliders that just drop off the table. Meanwhile, Ribalta also has a good slider, but throws a nasty changeup as well.
Of the three, Yovanny Cruz has the best stuff in my opinion. The slider he throws is legitimately one of the nastiest I have ever seen. It is 90-93 but gets real slider movement instead of being a glorified cutter. The pitch he struck out Matt McLain with was just unfair.
For Cruz to reach his closer ceiling, his fastball needs to make some improvements. That is a weird thing to say about a guy who averages over 100, but it is true. Cruz's fastball command has been less than impressive in his two outings. Even when he is in the zone with it though, it has not really been fooling anyone.

#back

Nationals manager Blake Butera was ejected in the top of the seventh inning because he thought Garrett Stubbs tripped into Nasim Nuñez during a run down that began to change the tides into the Phillies favor.
While Butera was not witnessing the game from the dugout, he and the entire Nationals organization experienced a flashback and will have nightmares tonight because of their bullpen.
After cruising through six innings, the Nationals staff let Andrew Alvarez return for the seventh inning against the bottom half of the Phillies order with a three-run lead. After a flyout to Alec Bohm, Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a backfoot slider in an 0-2 count that gifted him first base. Bryson Stott then worked a walk and it was time for the 2026 Washington Nationals bullpen.
First up is left-hander Tom Cosgrove against the bottom of the Phillies order. Against Edmundo Sosa, Cosgrove could not find the strike zone and walked Sosa on five pitches to bring up Derek Hill.
Against a left handed pitcher for the Nationals in a big leverage spot? Flashbacks!

#Phillies #first #inning #bottom

Shane Bieber melted down, which cost the Jays a chance to win but probably more importantly derailed a string of solid starts that had hopefully been pushing his trade value back up. Also, Vladimir Guerrero jr. left the game before the bottom of the fourth after legging out an infield single and throwing error in the third. It was later reported to be a right hamstring injury. So a good day all around.
We got a fun moment before the game as Louis Varland and his brother Gus, recently recalled from AAA by the Nationals, got to do the lineup card exchange.
There was an hour long rain delay before we could get going tonight. Cade Cavalli didn't look bothered, but it looked like the delay really threw Shane Bieber. He couldn't get any of his pitches across, missing badly all over the plate. After the Jays were retired in the first with just a Nathan Lukes single erased by a Vladimir Guerrero jr. double play ball, Bieber walked two the first three Washington hitters. Then CJ Abrams reached on an infield ground ball when Bieber couldn't find the bag while recieving Luis Urias' toss, loading the bases with just one out. Walks to Keibert Ruiz and Daylen Lile forced in a pair of runs. A Nasim Nunez sac fly plated Abrams to make it 3-0. Then another walk, to Jorbit Vivas, re-loaded the bases, and a sixth, to Jacob Young, pushed yet another run across. That was enough for the Jays, who called for Brendon Little. He got a ground out to finally end the inning.
The Jays had a chance in the second, with George Springer walking and Ernie Clement lining a single, but they failed to capitalize. Little returned for the bottom half and struck out the side.
Toronto got on board in the third. Yohendrick Pinango walked with one out, but was traded for Lukes on a fielder's choice. The speed upgrade mattered, as Vlad hit a slow roller to third and Vivas's throw to first went wide, allowing Lukes to come all the way around to score, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Little kept dealing, getting a ground out and a strikeout among the first two batters. Nunez reached when Ernie Clement bobbled a soft chopper to third, but Brandon Valenzuela gunned him down stealing second with a beautiful throw.

#lukes

The Astros may not be the conquering force they once were, but they remain a dangerous team. Yordan Alvarez is the biggest driver of that, and the Nats can’t let the Astros DH beat them on his own. The Nats will look to bounce back from a series loss against the Pirates as they continue this home stand.
Jacob Young is back in the lineup for the Nats. He will patrol center field while Daylen Lile is in left and Dylan Crews is in right. James Wood will take DH duties tonight. Nasim Nunez will be back at second base, while Drew Millas is behind the plate. Miles Mikolas will get the start this evening.
The focal point of this Astros lineup is the ferocious Yordan Alvarez who is hitting .320 with 29 homers. Jose Altuve, Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes are solid supporting pieces, but make no mistake, Yordan is the star of the show. The top of the Astros lineup has been elite, but they do not have the most depth. Mike Burrows has not had the season the Astros envisioned when they traded for him this offseason, but he will look to get going tonight.
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In Sam Raimi’s 2009 horror flick Drag Me To ****** , a woman makes a mistake at work and is eventually condemned to eternal ****** ation for it. This is highly relatable for the Nationals’ bullpen arms, wh0 made a mistake at work and were sentenced to ****** for it. Well, surrendering a pinch-hit go-ahead homer to a team down to their final strike isn’t quite ****** , but it’s close enough; I’m fairly certain Dante mentioned it somewhere in his Inferno, somewhere between the guy who’s eternally having his head bitten and the guys who are eternally trees.
But before the drama of a last-ditch comeback repeated, a less appealing narrative recurred: Aaron Nola’s struggles with the long ball continued, as Luis García Jr. took a sinker that hung up in the middle of the zone to center for a 1-0 Washington lead in the first. An inning later, Jorbit Vivas took a curveball that did the same and did the same. 2-0, Nationals. Meanwhile, the Phillies struggled through three against opener Carson Palmquist, putting only one baserunner aboard in the form of Brandon Marsh, who promptly got picked off.
Marsh was also the Phillies’ second baserunner, singling up the middle to lead off the fourth. Afterwards, Palmquist’s opening job was over, and Miles Mikolas took his turn. He quickly found trouble. Alec Bohm reached safely on a grounder when Nasim Nuñez booted it, and Bryson Stott hit a fly ball that found its way over James Wood’s head in right for a double. The Phillies had their first run of the night. They had their second on a sacrifice fly from J.T. Realmuto, and their third on a single from Gabriel Rincones Jr. Nola kept the good vibes going with a three up, three down fourth. Only a potential injury to Bohm, who came up limping while running the bases on the fourth, still needled the Phillies, and given that he remained in the game, this turned out not to be a big issue. The Nationals seemed like they might have a big issue though: the pitching of Mikolas, who gave up singles to Trea Turner and Marsh in the fifth. He fought his way through it without further damage, but the tilt of the game still seemed to favor the Phillies.
Kyle Backhus took over in the sixth, with Nola’s final line standing at 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Backhus faced the minimum of three, getting two out and allowing a baserunner, and was pulled for Jonathan Bowlan as Don Mattingly played the matchup game, pitting righty against righty. It did not go as planned. The first pitch to Curtis Mead went flying into deep left, towards the foul pole, remaining fair and ending the Phillies’ lead.
José Alvarado took the seventh. He got the first two batters out, but faced trouble with José Tena, who hit a shallow fly to left that Marsh dove for and missed. The result was a triple. CJ Abrams was up next; the duel between him and Alvarado saw a quartet of fouled off 3-2 pitches , and finally a walk. But Alvarado got the next batter out to keep the deficit at one.

The Nats were able to put the San Francisco meltdown behind them, and now have another chance to go 3 games over .500 for the first time since 2019. A 29-43 Royals team will stand in their way. This season has been a major disappointment for the Royals, who had so many stars at the WBC. The Nats still can’t take them lightly.
Blake Butera is making a couple tweaks to his lineup. Curtis Mead will be back at third base after not playing yesterday. The outfield will consist of Daylen Lile in left, Jacob Young in center and Dylan Crews in right. James Wood will be the DH. Nasim Nunez is the preferred option at second and Keibert Ruiz is back behind the plate. Andrew Alvarez will look to bounce back from a walk filled outing last time out.
This Royals offense has struggled this season, but there are still some big names. Old pal Lane Thomas will be leading off against the left handed Alvarez. Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. will follow him. Familiar faces like Starling Marte and Salvador Perez will be in the lineup, though Perez is at first and not behind the plate. Mitch Spence got lit up in his lone MLB outing this year, but gets the start tonight.
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