Nationals' CJ Abrams Surprisingly Seen as One of Top Trade Candidates in MLB
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The rumor mill will feature the Washington Nationals throughout the offseason.
That comes with the territory when a new president of baseball operations comes in who is tasked with getting this rebuild back on track. While most of the scuttlebutt surrounding the Nationals is regarding who they are going to trade, there's also a chance they could surprise people and be players in free agency.
However, with Paul Toboni taking over where he's largely expected to revamp the farm system, trade ideas featuring MacKenzie Gore and even James Wood have been thrown around across the baseball world.
But despite it being revealed that teams around the league will inquire about the potential availability of CJ Abrams, it was a surprise to see Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors list the rising star shortstop at No. 23 on his list of top 40 offseason trade candidates this year.
Why Nationals Could Trade CJ Abrams
On the surface, it seems pretty surprising that Abrams would be viewed as a possible trade candidate by Washington. After all, he's coming off the best two seasons of his MLB career in each of the past two years and seems to be ascending at the age of 25.
But Abrams also hasn't quite been able to put together a full season, as his second halves suffer a noticeable drop off in production compared to what he does prior to the All-Star break. It's not a given that he's ever going to figure it out, which could cause Toboni to see what they can get back in return for their starting shortstop.
"Given where the Nationals are at the moment, it only makes sense to listen to what's out there. There’s no urgency to trade Abrams this winter, but the new Toboni-led Nats also can't entirely dismiss the possibility," wrote Adams.
Nationals Could Be Better Served to Shop CJ Abrams Next Year
While it doesn't feel smart to ship out Abrams -- who has been one of the few offensive bright spots on this team the past couple of years -- if Toboni is ready to tear this thing down even further, then there's no doubt he could get back a strong return package in a potential deal.
However, if they do trade Abrams this offseason, then they could be moving on from him when his value isn't at its highest. That would be a tough pill to swallow, especially if he puts it all together with his new team. Because of that, the best course of action for Washington should be to hold onto the rising star for another year to see if he can generate a full season of production.
Because if he can, then the Nationals could get a king's ransom back for Abrams next winter.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai