While the Washington Nationals missed yet another opportunity to complete a series sweep on Wednesday afternoon, they still can hold their heads high. After taking the first 2 games from the Kansas City Royals, the Nationals had a chance to get to 5 games above .500, but will instead have to settle with being just 3 up.
That is still nothing to slouch at for a team that most people expected to be nowhere near as great as they have been so far this season. One reason in particular the team has exceeded expectations is shortstop CJ Abrams, who leads all vote-getters at the shortstop position in the National League. However, could he be on the move within just a couple months? It's not impossible.
Jeff Passan suggests questionable CJ Abrams hypothetical trade partner
One of the joys of following Jeff Passan Kiley McDaniel of ESPN is for when they put out pieces that are free to the public and are stocked full of tidbits and information about what they've heard and what they're thinking about certain things. Of course, the MLB Trade Deadline is when Passan makes his big bucks during the season, and on Wednesday, the duo dropped an incredible piece.
They put out their piece ranking MLB's top 100 trade deadline candidates, while also figuring out some potential destinations for each player. While the Nationals were listed several times as landing spots for certain guys (more on that later), they also saw CJ Abrams be ranked as the 5th-best trade candidate in the league as of now.
However, with the Nationals continuing to win, it seems highly unlikely, with Abrams being listed at just a 15% chance of being dealt, with his reasoning making perfect sense. Passan said, "among the limited number of teams looking to fill that position, the exceptional return that president of baseball operations Paul Toboni would seek and the Nationals still firmly in contention right now, it's probably not the time for Abrams to move." which should be music to Nationals' fans ears.
However, the real head-scratcher was the fact that Passan listed the Atlanta Braves first on a list of potential destinations alongside the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays, but at this point, there is no way the Nationals would do that. Dealing an All-Star entering the prime of his career within the division would be a surefire way to eliminate all momentum that the team has built up during Paul Toboni's first season at the helm.
Perhaps if the club suffers a massive drop-off before the deadline it would make sense, but with the best offense in the league and Abrams playing like a top player in the sport, there is really zero reason to move him now. For a fanbase starved for competitive baseball, dealing Abrams would be a kick in the shins, and while the return would be undoubtedly great, they likely can still get that same deal this offseason if they are dead set on dealing him.
I'm sure that Passan and McDaniel will be back at it as we approach the deadline, and perhaps he was just listing the Braves as a possibility for Abrams and nothing else. But, if nothing else, there are zero legs to the Nationals dealing him within the division, at least not right now.
What do you think of Jeff Passan's suggestion of CJ Abrams and the Atlanta Braves possibly being a trade match? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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