Nationals might have had hidden reason to move CJ Abrams off shortstop when they did

While the Washington Nationals will have a chance to even up the series against the New York Mets tonight, there certainly is going to be a lot of chatter surrounding the organization. On Friday, the Nationals made an announcement out of nowhere that they would be moving All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to second base, a move that might have some hidden meaning behind it.

The club has not officially come out and said anything super unexpected outside of the announcement itself, but if you follow the tea leaves of what the Nationals are continuing to do, the stars might just be aligning for a specific prospect in the organization. Allow me to explain.

Seaver King on doorstep of MLB debut after CJ Abrams position change

First off, it obviously must be acknowledged that CJ Abrams has some clear shortcomings at the shortstop position (no pun intended). Despite working with a new set of coaches and focusing intensely on defensive drills during the offseason, he grades out as the worst shortstop in baseball purely based on defense, with an absurd -17 Outs Above Average (OAA).

This is likely the main motivation for moving him off the position in the first place, as having a far superior defensive player like Nasim Nuñez, who has been worth 6 OAA at second base, take over the position makes a ton of sense. However, Nuñez is likely not the long-term answer at the position despite his elite speed and glove primarily due to his offensive shortcomings.

Simply put, if the Nationals had a shortstop with Abrams' bat and Nunez' glove, they would legitimately have one of the best players in the league. Abrams already is one of the best in the league, but, well, you know what I am trying to say.

However, if you look a little bit further beneath what's going on at the big-league level with the Nationals, and perhaps the question of why the Nationals decided to make this move with 38 games left to play in the regular season. Despite being 4.0 games under .500, this move does make the Nationals clearly better defensively in the interim, and gives the team the best chance to make the playoffs, however unlikely that might be.

Consider the fact that infielder and Top 100 prospect Seaver King, the Nationals' 1st-round pick back in 2024, has fared very well with AAA Rochester and has an OPS of 1.020 over his last 10 games, and it makes you wonder. Then, consider the fact that the Nationals randomly decided to ink shortstop Liover Peguero to a minor league deal today, and it makes you wonder even more about the timing of the Abrams move.

Given that teams can call up players to the majors beginning today without sacrificing rookie eligibility for next season, the time is now for teams to give guys big-league looks heading into next season. Considering how hot the resurgent King has been, the clear lack of offense from Nuñez at shortstop, the no-risk factor of promoting prospects now until the end of the year, and the fact that the Nationals signed a potential shortstop replacement, and you can come to the conclusion that Seaver King might be on the verge of making his MLB debut for the Nationals.

Obviously, these 'tea leaves' I'm reading could all end up being a major coincidence, and the Nationals moving Abrams to second base is purely to help the team win games in the interim only. However, considering how this front office likes to reward players who perform very well in the minors and are no strangers to making tough decisions, I would be on the lookout for King to get a look by the end of this season. If not now, then I'd see how things look for the Nationals in early September for him to get his chance.

By the way, if Seaver King ends up getting the call, you can count on me victory lapping for predicting that he would end the season as the starting shortstop for the Nationals back on February 20th.

Do you think Seaver King will be promoted by the Nationals before the end of 2026? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow