Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams has been demoted to the minor leagues after reportedly spending the night at a Chicago-area casino just hours before a game. While Abrams' performance had dipped in the second half of the season, manager Dave Martinez emphasized that the demotion was not due to his on-field performance.
to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the
Abrams, 23, led off for the Nationals and went 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday's game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals' minor league complex. Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion is unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season's final week.
Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO. "I just want it to be known it wasn't performance-based," Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday."It's an internal issue. I'm not going to give specifics."
CJ Abrams Nationals Demotion Casino Performance
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