Nationals Reportedly 'Planned to Trade' Their Star Player During Offseason

When Paul Toboni was hired to be the new president of baseball operations for the Washington Nationals, it was made clear that the rebuild was going to continue for this franchise.

Following the World Series championship in 2019, there was a slow trickle into that stage before the prior regime decided to tear everything down. But unfortunately for Nationals fans, things didn't go smoothly under the previous leadership, and that resulted in the firing of longtime executive Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez.

With Toboni at the helm, a reset across the major league roster and throughout the farm system was expected to take place, which meant that some faces of the franchise -- like MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams -- could have been traded during the offseason.

That's exactly what happened with Gore, as Washington shipped him to the Texas Rangers for a return package that featured five top 30 prospects. But things never quite got to that point with Abrams, and he's now a key part of the current roster that is overachieving.

However, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, the Nationals not only tried to trade him this winter, they had planned to do so.

Nationals Wanted to Trade CJ Abrams This Past Offseason

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"The Washington Nationals planned to trade him. They let everyone know he was available. If someone was willing to meet their price, 25-year-old shortstop C.J. Abrams was all theirs," the insider reported.

That might not come as a surprise given Abrams was featured in multiple trade rumors throughout the offseason, with other insiders around the league even stating they expected a trade to be imminent on multiple different occasions. But it's notable that Toboni told Abrams they weren't shopping him back in January.

"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.' They were laughing, but I wanted to be truthful with them. I'm like, 'Hey, we're not shopping you both,'" Toboni stated at a public event on Jan. 31.

Of course, that came after the Winter Meetings took place from Dec. 8-10 last year. And the executive easily could have been shopping Abrams around during that time before he decided to hold onto his star shortstop when he made those comments at that event, especially when it was revealed that Toboni turned down what was deemed an "aggressive" offer from the San Francisco Giants roughly a week before.

Paul Toboni, CJ Abrams Had Communication About Possible Trade

Something that stood out in Nightengale's report was how transparent Toboni was with his star. The executive was reportedly up-front with Abrams about the possibility of a trade taking place, and if there was an offer that made him consider dealing the shortstop, he would let Abrams know.

"It meant a lot," Abrams said to USA TODAY. "I was able to ignore things out there because I was in communication with Paul."

That communication will have to continue ahead of this year's trade deadline. Abrams has been an offensive force to start the season, and that should create even more interest in the 25-year-old when it comes to teams around the league making an offer to acquire him. And perhaps this time, there is a package that forces Toboni to deal the young star like he reportedly was looking for during the offseason.

Add us as a preferred source on Google