Washington Nationals infielder CJ Abrams has been the worst defensive shortstop since 2022. He ranks last in the metrics outs above-average, and runs prevented. Abrams has a total of -50 outs above average and -38 runs prevented.

The defensive struggles stem from two factors: depth perception and arm-strength issues. CJ Abrams has trouble figuring out how much the baseball is going to bounce on the grass or turf. On April 26 2023, the Washington Nationals were facing the New York Mets. In the bottom of the fifth inning, CJ Abrams was coming in to field a baseball off the bat of former Met Eduardo  Escobar. 

As he approached the baseball, CJ Abrams expected it to stay flat on the ground. He fully extended his arm to ensure his glove contacted the dirt and allowed the baseball to enter. Unfortunately, the ball bounced up at the last moment and struck his left wrist. The contact caused the baseball to trickle behind CJ Abrams, leading to an error.

This is not an isolated incident; he had another depth-perception issue in 2025. On September 10 2025, Washington was facing the Miami Marlins. In the bottom of the sixth inning, CJ Abrams was standing between second and third base, getting ready to field a ground ball off the bat of Maximo Acosta. 

As the baseball approached him, he anticipated a significant bounce and raised his glove. Unfortunately, the baseball failed to bounce and rolled under his glove into the outfield.

Depth-perception issues cause CJ Abrams to slow down on defense, giving him less time to throw to the base.  This is problematic because his arm strength is below average for a shortstop, averaging 85.1 mph, 0.8 mph less than average. These factors contribute to his inaccurate throws.

On August 6 2025, when Washington faced the Athletics, CJ Abrams took about five slow steps into the field to field a ground ball from Darell Hernaiz. He corralled the baseball into his glove, but the runner had already reached halfway to first base before he was ready to throw.

Consequently, he threw the ball as hard as he could, but it was inaccurate because it was high. The high throw forced the first baseman to come off the bag, resulting in an error.

This type of fielding has led to CJ Abrams accumulating 47 throwing errors since 2022, the most in the league. The throwing errors account for 60.3% of his total errors as he has accumulated a total of 78 errors since 2022, also the most in the league.

Together, arm strength and depth-perception issues make CJ Abrams the league’s worst defensive shortstop.