Could the Washington Nationals make another trade ahead of Opening Day involving CJ Abrams or Jacob Young?
It took all of one day after the Washington Nationals traded MacKenzie Gore for rumors and speculation to begin around another key player after a report that the San Francisco Giants made an aggressive offseason run at shortstop CJ Abrams before negotiations fizzled.
Since then, there's been nothing short of a continued stream of possible trade ideas surrounding Abrams with others pointing to a matter of when, not if, the Nationals pulls the trigger on a trade similar to Gore. The Athletic listed Abrams as one of seven candidates who could be traded ahead of Opening Day, noting the team is listening, not shopping ahead of year one of Blake Butera.
A report from Spencer Nusbaum, Andrew Golden and Chelsea James from The Washington Post in mid-January noted the team is "shopping" both Abrams and outfielder Jacob Young through the offseason.
During Hot Stove Lunch Day for season ticket holders on Saturday, president of baseball Paul Toboni pushed back on the phasing of "shopping" both Abrams and Young ahead of Opening Day.
"An article came out that we were shopping CJ Abrams and Jacob Young. I called both of them and said this is a load of you know what. And they were laughing, but I wanted to be truthful with them. I'm like hey, we're not shopping you both. Having said that, I also don't want to lead you down this path like there's a zero percent chance they get traded because there is a non-zero percent change that you get traded."
The phrasing makes clear that, like Gore, it will take the right type of package for the team to ultimately make a move. With Gore always viewed as the more likely trade target over Abrams, The Athletic noted that the return haul for the Nationals will have to include major league prospects.
With rumors swirling around Gore's interest during Winter Meetings, Abrams expressed surprise at talks of the organization moving on from Abrams months ago.
“I didn’t see the CJ Abrams stuff until today and so I didn’t think that was a thing,” he said when asked in December.
Acquired in the Juan Soto trade, Abrams is coming off his third full season with the organization where he's totaled 57 home runs, 199 RBIs and 115 stolen bases while hitting .250 during his time as a National. He also posted a career-high 92 runs and 35 doubles in 2025.
Meanwhile, the Nationals have remained active amid a flurry of waiver claims this week, including a pair who were designated for assignment just days after joining the organization.