Washington Nationals news & notes: CJ Abrams and the abrupt end of his 2024 campaign…

Notes and quotes on an up and down year for the Nationals’ shortstop…

“We don’t have a specific ‘‘You have to be in at 11 o’clock’ type of thing,” GM and President of Baseball Ops in D.C. Mike Rizzo told Audacy’s The Sports Junkies when asked about a report which had shortstop CJ Abrams out all night at a casino in Chicago before a day game in Wrigley Field late this year.

Rizzo’s comments came after the abrupt end of Abrams’ 2024 campaign in late September, when the infielder was optioned out to Triple-A in a seemingly punitive move.

“It’s the big leagues, and we conduct ourselves like a major league franchise,” Rizzo said, in explaining why there was no hard curfew. “And you have to prepare yourself to perform the next day at your job, and these guys monitor themselves and over the course of the year they know what it takes to be ready to play,” the GM told the Junkies.

“I always say, and it’s very Pollyanna-ish at times, we really sincerely do care about the name on the front of the jersey more than the name on the back of the jersey and that a constant that we have here,” he continued.

“It’s about teamwork and being a great teammate and that type of thing.

“And when players fail to reach those standards we have to do something to get them back into the mode of Nationals and teammate and big leagues, and we felt it was warranted in this case.”

As for the actual details of what transpired which led to the decision to send Abrams out… Rizzo, like manager Davey Martinez, declined to get into specifics or confirm any of the reports circulating at the time.

“It was not performance-based and we felt it was in the best interest of the player and the organization to do so,” Rizzo 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, or talk about specifics,” Martinez told reporters, echoing Rizzo’s language.

“It’s an internal issue, that we’re gonna keep internal,” Rizzo added. “It’s a family matter that we keep in the family. Suffice it to say, it’s not the end of the world for CJ, it’s not the end of the world for the Nationals. It’s something that happens over the course of time, especially with young players.

“And we love CJ, we care for CJ, we’re in constant communication with him and his agent.

“And we still have a great relationship and it’s something that we felt was needed for him and for the organization.”

Abrams earned his first All-Star nod with a solid .268/.343/.489, 21 double, six triple, 15 HR first half (in 89 games and 398 plate appearances), but he struggled after the break, and ended up with a .203/.260/.326 line, eight doubles, and five home runs in 49 games and 204 PAs in the so-called second half of the season before he was optioned to Triple-A but actually reported to West Palm Beach to finish up the year.

“We have a standard here with the Nationals, we’ve had it for a lot of years,” Rizzo added, “… and when players don’t reach those standards we have to do what’s in the best interest of the organization. But often, these things are done with the best interest of the player involved. And certainly, with this situation, the interest of CJ Abrams was first and foremost in our mind and we thought that it rose to not where we wanted to be with the Nats.”