On Sunday night, after the Washington Nationals wrapped up the first half of the season, James Wood and CJ Abrams waved goodbye to their teammates and got in twin sprinter vans to make the journey up Interstate 95 to Philadelphia.
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When they walk into the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night, they’ll do so as the faces of the Nationals franchise. They are the most recognizable players on the roster, the soft-spoken leaders of the clubhouse and the top offensive contributors. Wood is hitting .280 with 28 home runs and a .984 OPS, with Abrams right behind him, hitting .275 with 20 home runs and a .864 OPS.
It’s exactly the future the Nationals envisioned when they acquired them in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres in 2022, the team sending away star Juan Soto and Josh Bell in exchange for Wood, Abrams and three other players.
As Wood and Abrams have grown into their roles, so, too, has their friendship. Both are laid-back but prone to trash-talking. Abrams is better, Wood said. But Wood is sneaky funny, Abrams added.
“I’m not that good of a trash-talker,” Wood admitted.
They knew each other when they were with the Padres, as top prospects usually do. The pair met when Abrams was on a rehab assignment in 2021, shortly after Wood was drafted. Abrams, who had been picked two years earlier, was in Class AA when a knee injury sent him to the Padres’ complex in Arizona. Wood, along with all the recent draft picks, was getting initiated to professional baseball.
A year later, Wood was just minutes into a bus ride in California from Lake Elsinore to Visalia when his phone rang. Abrams, who debuted earlier that season, was at his apartment in San Diego, preparing to play a doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies, when he got a call. They were being sent to Washington.
Next came the logistical challenge of getting to their new assignments. Wood was stuck on the bus for four more hours, then drove three more hours up to Sacramento to catch a flight. Abrams had an easier route — he was already in a major city, so he just had to make the short drive to the airport, then fly to Rochester, New York, where his Nationals’ career began in Class AAA.
“I should have written it down because it was crazy,” Wood said.
Wood and Abrams didn’t talk that day, but they did reconnect shortly after to rehash the news. They went about their business, Abrams spending two weeks in AAA before getting called back up while Wood was sent to low A for the rest of the season.
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In 2024, Wood was in major league camp for the first time, and that’s where the pair really started to bond. Later that season, Wood was called up for his debut, and the duo became even better friends.
“We got close instantly,” Abrams said.
They’ve made lots of memories since. Wood’s favorite is the time they hit back-to-back home runs in Toronto last season. They are fixtures at the chess table in the Nationals’ clubhouse, and they bring a consistent energy to the team, not getting too high or too low.
“They’ve been awesome,” Manager Blake Butera said. “[They] just believe in preparation and going out and being the same person every day.”
Now they’re heading to the All-Star Game, another memory for the two best friends. Abrams, who was selected via the fan vote, will start the game at shortstop. Wood, who was voted on by his peers, will be a reserve outfielder.
There is always a chance, given the Nationals’ willingness in the past to trade away its stars, that it could be the last milestone they hit together. If the Nationals decide to be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline, Abrams could be one of the players shipped away.
But if that doesn’t happen, Abrams and Wood will return to the team in the second half to try to lead it to its first playoff berth since 2019, or, perhaps more attainable, a season above .500. At 48-49 at the break, and with Wood batting first and Abrams hitting cleanup, both things are possible, especially with this pair leading the way.
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