In the midst of the 2026 season, the Washington Nationals made a bombshell revelation that they would be shifting CJ Abrams over to second base.
That came after multiple years of struggles at shortstop, where Abrams routinely was at the top of Major League Baseball in errors committed while also grading out as one of the worst defenders when looking at advanced analytics. Unfortunately, the Nationals didn't get a real look at how Abrams performed at the keystone. An ankle injury limited his time in the field, and when he was healthy enough to play defense, he still got the majority of his reps at shortstop.
Of course, the human element was a factor in all of this, too. Abrams was not happy about the decision, as it not only could have an impact on how much money he would receive in the future, but he also prides himself on being the shortstop of the team.
Regardless, a position change is anticipated to take place for Abrams. However, it just might not be to second base like originally expected.
CJ Abrams Predicted to Become Outfielder
"The big question surrounding Abrams is: Will he remain at shortstop or will he move to the outfield? Some folks believe his long-term future will be the latter," wrote Robert Murray of FanSided.
That is quite an interesting nugget of information before the offseason gets underway. Like stated above, the Nationals are still open to slotting Abrams at shortstop if he can improve his defense. After all, a 30-plus home run, 100-plus RBI producer at that position who is also a solid defender would make him one of the game's most valuable players. However, the likelihood of that happening is slim, which is why there were expectations that Abrams would be used at second base in 2027 while top prospect Seaver King took over at shortstop.
So where does the notion of Abrams moving to outfield come?
There has been no public indication that Washington sees him as an outfielder. That means, for Murray to share this information, that some teams around the league believe he is a long-term outfielder and they are assessing the two-time All-Star shortstop as such.
It should be pointed out that Abrams only has three games of major league experience in the outfield, and all of those came back in 2022 with the San Diego Padres as a right fielder. Even as a minor leaguer he only has two games of experience in the outfield, as he got two starts in center at the Triple-A level back in 2022.
At the age of 26, seeing Abrams shift to a corner outfield position would be surprising, especially based on the lack of reps he's had during live action. However, it seems like there are at least a few people around the sport who believe that position change will take place.
Whether or not that happens in a Nationals uniform will be seen.
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