(This story was updated to add new information)
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, furious after learning that All-Star shortstop C.J. Abrams was out all night at a Chicago casino before playing a game five hours later Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, demoted him to the minors for the rest of the season.
The Nationals announced the move Saturday morning before their game against the Chicago Cubs. He technically was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, but with that team's season ending Sunday, Abrams will spend the rest of the season at the Nationals' minor league complex at West Palm Beach, Florida.
The all-nighter will cost Abrams about $30,000 in pay. But it won’t affect his status as a first-time arbitration-eligible Super 2 player because he already accumulated 172 days on the major-league roster.
Abrams, the Nationals’ lone All-Star representative and one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, has struggled in the second half, hitting just .203 with a .326 slugging percentage.
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Yet, Nationals manager Davey Martinez said the demotion had nothing to do with his play, informing him of the team’s decision Friday after he had gone 4-for-5 with two doubles and two stolen bases on Thursday night.
Abrams went hitless on Friday and was summoned after the game into Martinez’s office, where he was questioned about a social media post on X that he was at the Bally’s Casino in Chicago until 8 a.m..
“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,’’ Martinez told reporters before Saturday's game. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to get into specifics or talk specifics, because I need to keep everything on the down-low. I’ve got other guys out there I want to support.
“I’m going to support C.J. He’s a big part of our Nats family, and he will be. But without getting into any details, this was the right thing to do."
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