Abrams’ back:
CJ Abrams missed four days of Grapefruit League games with a sore back, but the 22-year-old shortstop returned to action Sunday afternoon and played five innings against the Detroit Tigers.
Abrams went 2-for-2 with a double (sliding second off his head) before being swapped into the lineup.
“He’s done really well,” said Davey Martinez, the Knott’s manager. Words by Mark Zuckerman of MASN After the game, the infielder explained that it was part of the plan to pitch just five innings in the first game.
“He had a good spring,” Martinez added of the infielder, who batted 28 for 9 (.321/.333/.393) in 10 games this spring.
“He hits the ball hard,” Martinez said.
“He’s played against a lot of lefties, which is great. We wanted him to do that. And he stays on the ball really well.”
Abrams made his major league debut earlier this year, acquired by the Padres in a Juan Soto (and Josh Bell) trade from San Diego last August, but was still with the Padres. His new club has high expectations from shortstops in his first full season in the majors.
But after Sunday afternoon’s game, his manager said he wanted to focus on the immediate future and get Abrams back on Monday to make sure he’s back to 100 percent.
“We’ll probably do the same thing tomorrow,” Martinez told reporters. As quoted on MLB.com, of Abrams’ plans for Monday. “But good. He said it felt good to go back there and run around and test where he was. I asked him — he said, ‘I don’t feel anything. No, that’s fine.”
In his second game back, Abrams went 0-3 with a walk and a run Monday night (his first walk of the spring season), and he’s leading the DH this afternoon for the Nationals. increase…
