The Morning Briefing: September 23

Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, September 23.

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Leading this Morning's Briefing: So, About That Demotion...

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that if you are reading this you haven't been living under a rock and thus are aware that the Nationals optioned CJ Abrams to AAA on Saturday afternoon. I think it was the right move, especially since all the subtext points to this individual event being part of a larger pattern. But I also think that the organization shoulders a lot of blame for allowing things to get to this point with a potential organizational building block for the third time in four years (Victor Robles in 2021, Luis García Jr. in 2023). Management (in ways that can be ascribed to both Davey Martinez and Mike Rizzo) has seemingly been unable to clearly define professionalism guidelines enough such that players stay within them, at least to the point that the Nats don't feel the need to publicly shame them with a demotion, and of course they have not kept any veterans capable of policing a clubhouse around longer than a few months. Ask yourself what current National has the gravitas and inclination to tell the young All-Star shortstop that he needs to get his act together. Yeah, exactly.

Martinez's management style works pretty well when there is a Max Scherzer or a Ryan Zimmerman around to make sure everyone puts their best foot forward on the job. Those guys don't exist in the current Nats clubhouse, and that is part of the problem as well - and that is on Rizzo (and by extension, ownership). Martinez, meanwhile, who clearly cares about his players, appears to not be giving the message about putting your job first to a number of younger guys in an effective manner, because again, this is the third time in four years that the team has had to resort to the almost-nuclear option. It wound up working for García Jr., although not for Robles (who needed the true last-ditch option of a DFA to turn his career around). Will it work for Abrams? We will find out in 2025. He can play at the same level as the other elite shortstops around baseball (Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., Francisco Lindor, etc.), and believes himself to belong in that tier. But in order to do that, he needs to be a professional, establish good habits, and put his career ahead of partying or all-night gambling or anything else. Hopefully this public humiliation steers him toward getting his priorities in the proper order.

Last Game Out

Shōta Imanaga shut out the Nats over seven innings, and Jake Irvin allowed three home runs in four innings in a 5-0 loss to end the last road trip of the season. The Cubs wound up taking three of four from the Nats this weekend, who now return home to face two teams in their final six games who still have plenty to play for in the Royals and Phillies.

Nationals Headline of the Day: Nye Says Nats Win in 2026

Bill Nye the Science Guy is one of the biggest celebrity Nats fans, and he sat down for an interview with MLB.com's Matt Monagan and, among other things, predicted another World Series title in 2026.

Down on the Farm

The Rochester Red Wings ended their season with a 3-2 loss in 11 innings to the Iowa Cubs yesterday, although Andrew Alvarez did well in striking out ten Cubs in five innings. And with that, all of the minor league teams are done for the season.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day

The Chicago White Sox tied the New York Mets' record for most losses in a season with their 120th yesterday in San Diego...and they have six more games to play. 125 losses is not out of the realm of possibility. If you happen to be a subscriber to The Athletic, take a look at Britt Ghiroli (nice to see her have an axe to grind against another team for a change) and Ken Rosenthal's report on the South Side catastrophe.

Former National of the Day

The demotion of Abrams does not just recall those of Robles and García Jr. in recent years, but also the DFA and release of Shawn Kelley in 2018 after throwing a tantrum on the mound in the late innings of a blowout loss that he did not feel like he deserved to be pitching in. That led to Rizzo's most quotable moment, "You're either in, or you're in the way." Kelley was a Nat from 2016 through that release, appearing in 135 games and pitching to a 3.87 ERA and 1.057 WHIP.

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