Nasim

Nunez

The Nats plan to promote Andrés Chaparro from Triple-A Rochester on Monday and they needed to clear a spot on the active roster to do so, which pushed Nuñez back down to Triple-A. The 24-year-old infielder slashed just .195/.283/.244 with zero homers, five RBI and seven stolen bases in 47 plate appearances with the big league club.

Abrams will head to the bench for a rare day off with lefty Jacob Latz kicking off a bullpen game for the Rangers. The 24-year-old shortstop could use a break since he’s hitting .136 (8-for-59) with zero homers and two steals over his last 15 games. It’ll be Nasim Nuñez getting an opportunity at shortstop on Sunday afternoon in his place.

No surprise here as García has taken a seat occasionally against left-handers. He’ll get a break with southpaw Matthew Boyd taking the ball on Wednesday evening. The 25-year-old second baseman has been in a groove lately, hitting .333 (19-for-57) with two homers, 13 RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. It’ll be Nasim Nuñez getting a chance at the keystone to open the game.

Nuñez spent most of last year glued to the bench, too, but he was a Rule 5 pick then. There’s no reason for the 24-year-old to be up in the majors right now if he’s not going to play at all. Manager Dave Martinez has given him a total of three at-bats since CJ Abrams came off the IL on Apr. 24.

It was Nuñez’s first start in three days since he was promoted when CJ Abrams was placed on the IL. The Nationals might as well give him a little look at shortstop here. He had a great spring, and unlike Paul DeJong and Amed Rosario, he might actually have a role with the Nationals beyond 2025.

Nuñez is up with CJ Abrams (undisclosed) heading to the 10-day injured list. The 24-year-old could see starts at shortstop while Abrams recovers, but those starts won’t likely equal fantasy relevance.

The Nationals aren’t waiting until the final days of spring training to make major decisions regarding their Opening Day roster, as sending out both Herz and Ogasawara likely means that Mitchell Parker will open the season as the fifth and final starter in the club’s rotation. Nuñez was always a long shot to head north in a reserve role, though he should get a chance with the Nats at some point during the regular season.

Nuñez was surprisingly competent offensively in his rare opportunities as a Rule 5 pick last season — he had just 78 plate appearances, half of which came after the shocking CJ Abrams demotion in September — but he’s getting no consideration for a spot on this year’s team. It’s probably for the best that he get regular at-bats in the minors, but he is performing right now, having gone 5-for-13 with five steals and just one strikeout to date.

That will make three straight games missed for Abrams after being scratched Friday because of the shoulder injury he suffered Thursday. The 23-year-old should still be considered day-to-day, but it’s that point in the year where day-to-day because a little less likely with so little of the season left. Nasim Nuñez gets the start at shortstop while Abrams gets better.

The 23-year-old Nuñez wasn’t quite a top prospect when the Nationals plucked him from the Marlins system in December, but he’s definitely a worse bet now after getting a total of 17 plate appearances and 44 innings in the field over the last four-plus months. The Nationals haven’t even come up with a phantom injury to get him at-bats in the minors for a couple of weeks.