Abrams ready for fresh start after All-Star season ended at Triple-A

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Shortstop CJ Abrams’ 2024 All-Star season ended a week early when he was optioned by the Nationals to Triple-A Rochester. This year, he is getting an early start at Spring Training.

Abrams arrived in Florida on Monday, one of the many position players present for the first pitchers and catchers workout on Wednesday -- a week before the first full squad workout.

“I'm excited to play,” Abrams, 24, said. “Good offseason. Put in a lot of work -- got bigger, faster, stronger. … I wanted to come out here, see everybody, get things started.”

Abrams was optioned to Rochester on Sept. 21, during a series in Chicago. At the time, manager Dave Martinez said, “I just want it to be known, it wasn’t performance-based. It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”

“He's a great kid, he really is,” Martinez said on Wednesday. “He loves to be here. He loves his teammates. What he did in the past is the past. Moving forward, like I said, he wants to come out here and play baseball and be the best shortstop he could possibly be. I'm excited for him. We know what he can do on the field. So we're looking forward to keeping him healthy and getting him out there and letting him play shortstop every day.”

Abrams took the late-season move to heart. He said “it took some time” to move on from the situation, but he focused on how he could learn from it, including to “stay where your feet are, stay present.”

“I feel like that's the case with anything -- it's the way you perceive things,” Abrams said. “I'm going to do the best I can to be the best I can.”

Abrams returned home to Georgia, where he dove into his offseason program while keeping in touch with the team. Hitting coach Darnell Coles also visited with him.

“[Coles] said he looked great,” Martinez said. “He sent me videos of him hitting and his workouts, and he looked like he was engaged and ready to go. So for me, it was important that he had a really good offseason and came to Spring Training ready.”

Abrams gained muscle, now weighing around 200 pounds (he was listed at 191 pounds last season). He noted a lot of the weight was gained in his legs, which he hopes will help him hit balls harder.

Last season, Abrams earned his first All-Star selection with a strong first half. Post-break, though, he recorded a .203/.260/.326 slash line with a .586 OPS and five homers in 49 games.

“Consistency is a big thing up here. So staying in the gym, making sure my body's right, taking care of my body,” Abrams said, adding, “You kind of get on a slippery slope whenever you're doing bad, you kind of get in your own head and then you think too much. I think that was part of it, too. So just being able to stay positive and take my losses as lessons.”

This spring, Abrams’ locker is in row with veterans Josh Bell and Nathaniel Lowe. He has the opportunity to learn from tenured players while stepping into a leadership role on a young, developing team.

“What happened last year, I think we're beyond that,” Martinez said. “He knows how important [he is], what he means to this organization. I talked to him a lot about what he means to me, personally. He's an All-Star, right? He's proved that. So we're excited that he's in a good place. He looks great. He showed up early. So with that being said, I'm going to follow his lead. He's excited to be here and ready to get going.”