Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo says his long-term view of CJ Abrams has not changed after the team’s decision to demote the All-Star shortstop last week.

Only five games remain in the 2024 season for the Washington Nationals, who will play their last eight games without All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams. Abrams was demoted to the minors this past Saturday after staying out at a casino until 8 a.

After Abrams was sent to the minor leagues, the status of his relationship with the Nationals could dominate the offseason.

The Nationals shockingly sent down their star shortstop with roughly a week to go in the regular season after Abrams reportedly spent the entire night at a casino near Chicago and left just hours before the Nationals faced the Cubs in a 1 p.m. game Friday, according to ESPN.

All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams has been demoted to the minor leagues by the Washington Nationals for a reason not related to his on-field performance and is not expected to play for them the rest of the season.

While Rizzo acknowledges this team hasn’t produced “a record I wanted,” the GM says he sees progress and hopes ownership will add to the roster this offseason.

“Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo sends a message to All-Star shortstop C.J. Abrams, optioning him to Class A West Palm Beach for the rest of the season after violating curfew in Chicago,” Nightengale said on his X, formerly Twitter.

A reported curfew violation has led the Washington Nationals to demote All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams with eight days left in the season.

In a surprising move, the Nationals optioned shortstop CJ Abrams to Triple-A Rochester, the Athletic's Britt Ghiroli reports (via X).

Manager Dave Martinez said the move “wasn’t performance-based” before MacKenzie Gore shut down the Cubs in a 5-1 win.

Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams had been out all night at a Chicago casino before playing an afternoon game five hours later at Wrigley Field.