- CJ Abrams had an extremely late night out before a game against the Cubs
- Nationals manager Dave Martinez said the move was not performance-based
Washington Nationals All-Star CJ Abrams has been demoted after reportedly spending an all-nighter at a casino before a day game on Friday.
Abrams and the Nationals faced the Cubs starting at 1pm local time, a game which Chicago won 3-1.
And according to CHGO Sports, Abrams was at the Bally’s casino in Chicago until 8am in the morning.
That decision apparently made its way back to the organization and on Saturday, the shortstop was sent down to the minors, as ESPN first wrote.
Abrams unsurprisingly struggled on the field after his late night out, going 0-3 with a strikeout.
CJ Abrams has been demoted to the minor leagues after pulling an all-nighter before a game
The shortstop hit 15 games over the first half of the season to earn an All-Star nod
He’ll now be sent to West Palm Beach, Florida, which is where the team’s minor league complex is located.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez did not get into the specific reasoning for Abrams’ demotion but acknowledged it had nothing to do with his play.
‘I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,’ he told reporters on Saturday.
‘It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.’
Abrams, 23, earned his first All-Star Game selection after hitting 15 home runs in the first 89 games of the season.
However, he’s hit just five more since then and is batting only .203 in the second half of the year.
