The Washington Nationals have quickly become one of the most interesting clubs in all of baseball to follow this offseason. Despite not really being active in free agency, having just 1 major league signing so far, they have found ways to consistently stay in the headlines.
Obviously, the MacKenzie Gore deal was the one that us Nationals fans had been waiting for since August, and Toboni seemingly did a great job of playing the market in his favor. After numerous other starting pitchers had come off the board in advance of Gore, Toboni was able to get a great package of youngsters in return for his ace.
But now, with the Gore deal in the rearview mirror, there is now a potential chance that he looks to deal another piece of the Juan Soto deal, but of course we will wait and see. According to a recent piece from Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, the Nationals were involved in talks with the San Francisco Giants on a deal centered around 2024 All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, as they continue to look for infield help.
While this trade would come as a little bit more of a surprise, the Nationals have shown little interest in signing Abrams to a long-term extension, likely because they want to see him perform this year to determine if he's worth extending before the Nationals' next contention window. While Abrams has been solid offensively thus far in his career, he has been challenged defensively, with a move to second base seemingly looming in his future.
As for the package itself, the Giants reportedly were willing to include shortstop Josuar Gonzalez, MLB Pipeline's #44 overall prospect, as well as other highly touted names such as Carson Wisenhunt, Bo Davidson, Jacob Bresnahan, and Jhonny Level. This would be a pretty great haul for a player like Abrams, who the front office might not believe is in their future.
While nothing is confirmed, many fans online have speculated that the Nationals could be holding out for Giants' top prospect Bryce Eldridge, who played his high school ball at Madison High School in Northern Virginia and would fill the Nationals' need for a big bat at first base. It also could be completely possible that the Nationals hold on to Abrams, as since he is not a client of Scott Boras, the likelihood he signs an extension is much higher than most of their other youngsters.
Additionally, with still 3 seasons of control before becoming a free agent, Abrams' value is so high because he is a controllable asset, so the Nationals have a chance to hold on to him for a bit to see if he improves under new coaching. If anything, it is more likely that Abrams is dealt around the trade deadline or even after the 2026 season.
What do you think of the recent CJ Abrams trade rumors? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.