In a surprising move, the Nationals optioned shortstop to Triple-A Rochester, the Athletics Britt Ghiroli reports ( ). Infielder is being called up in the corresponding move, as per The Washington Posts Andrew Golden ( ). Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including and ) that Abrams was optioned not for his play on the field, but rather an internal i sue matter that Martinez didnt discu s in further detail. Abrams will report not to Rochester for the last two games of the Triple-A season but will instead go to the Nats spring camp in Florida to work out. Martinez confirmed that Abrams wouldnt appear in the majors again in 2024, but remains a big piece of the organizations present and future. It was just over two months ago that Abrams was representing the Nationals in the All-Star Game, as the 23-year-old was named to the NL squad as a reward for his Kelly Oubre Jr. Jersey outstanding first half. Abrams hit .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs in 398 plate appearances prior to the All-Star break, and looked all the world like a breakout player in his age-23 season. As the sixth overall pick of the 2019 draft and the centerpiece of the trade package Washington received from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade, Abrams has long been seen as a future star, and the early returns of his 2024 season looked like a big step forward from his respectable performance in 2023, his first full MLB campaign. Since the Midsummer Cla sic, however, Abrams production has tailed off. The shortstop has hit only .203/.260/.326 in 204 PA during the second half, and gone yard only five times. Abrams strikeout rate has risen from 20.1% in the first half to 23.53% in the second half, and his line drive rate plummeted from 23.6% to 7.8%. This decline in hard contact indicates that Abrams .243 BABIP since the All-Star break is more than just bad batted-ball luck, and his .307 BABIP in the first half wasnt too far above league average anyways. This extended slump notwithstanding, it is clear that Abrams wouldnt have been sent down if it wasnt for this off-the-field i sue. Whatever the circumstances, the club deemed the situation serious enough to send this public me sage to Abrams as something of a wake-up call or a punishment. There is bound to be some speculation that the Nats might now look to trade Abrams, yet Martinezs comments about Abrams importance to Washingtons future seemed designed to end such speculation before it even got off the ground. Going forward, Martinez feels Abrams will be better in the aftermath of the option. Mi sing the last nine days of the 2024 season shouldnt have any impact on Abrams Super Two eligibility. As a reminder, Super Two players have le s than three years of MLB service time, but sit in the top 22 percent of service time of all players between two and three years, and as such are awarded an extra year of arbitration eligibility. Abrams entered the 2024 campaign with one year and 130 days of service time, and thus a full season on Washingtons active roster wouldve put him at the 2.130 mark almost surely qualifying him for Super Two status based on the cutoff points . However, a player only needs to be on an active roster or the Major League injured list for 172 days of the 187-day season to qualify as having received . As such, since Abrams has already been with the Nationals beyond the 172-day threshold, he has achieved one full year of service time for 2024 and remains on track to be a Super Two player. Jevon Carter Jersey