The Washington Nationals will look to turn their attention to the start of spring training this weekend, though CJ Abrams was once again named a possible mover this spring.
The Washington Nationals are set to open spring training this weekend with the team set to split the roster with first pitch set for 1:05 PM against the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals, giving manager Blake Butera and his new staff a chance to analyze a roster featuring over 20 non-roster invites.
While Saturday marks the start of several roster decisions set to be made over the next month, one of those won't be about shortstop CJ Abrams, who found himself in the midst of trade rumors earlier this offseason.
Just one day after the front office made the decision to trade MacKenzie Gore to Texas, news broke that another Nationals star was also nearly on the move this offseason after trade discussions with the San Francisco Giants fizzled due to Washington's asking price. If you thought the rumor mill would end there, you would be wrong.
That fueled the start of speculation as to whether the Nationals would end up making a move prior to spring training or Opening Day, leading president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to throw water on the spreading fire.
"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," Toboni said at an event for season ticket holders last month.
But that hasn't stopped the speculation from running wild into spring training with Abrams named the player most likely to get traded this spring, according to a poll conducted by The Athletic after polling over 30 current and former executives, managers, coaches and scouts through the league.
Abrams drew seven votes to Sandy Alcantara's six, marking the only players to draw more than five votes. Isaac Paredes, Lars Nootbaar, Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan and Kris Bubic among players most likely to get traded this spring.
One executive noted that "anybody on the Nationals" could get traded, while another noted that the negotiations with the Giants were credible after adding, "I know they had legs."
"Their goal right now is to have the No. 1-ranked system in baseball. So anything that could help them get there, they’re going to do," one said.
With Washington staying patient and consistent about the mindset on a trade, whether on-field results in year one under Toboni and manager Blake Butera influence a midseason trade is another question. But like MacKenzie Gore, Toboni and the front office have remained consistent that the Nationals are not looking to make a move within any timeframe, rather assess the offered returns for Abrams or other players to pounce on the right deal.
Whether that comes to fruition for Abrams in 2026 or beyond is a question mark, but for now, the 25 year old star is looking to build on a 2025 season where he hit .257 with 19 home runs, 60 RBI, and 31 stolen bases.
"Just watching the way he plays the games, he's one of the best players in baseball, in my opinion, has the potential to be," Butera said of Abrams. "I told him a couple days ago, hey, you should be an All Star this year. And he's like, I know, that's my goal. So I think just pushing him, continue to push him."