A Team Has Reportedly 'Already Checked On' Availability of Nationals' CJ Abrams
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It's going to be a long couple of months when it comes to trade rumors surrounding Washington Nationals star shortstop CJ Abrams.
As of right now, it appears like he might be the best player who could possibly be dealt. While it's not a given that the Nationals will ship the 25-year-old out of town before the Aug. 3 deadline, that's not going to stop teams around the league from inquiring about the availability of the slugger.
And according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post (subscription required), there has been at least one team that has already reached out to Washington regarding Abrams.
Team Has Reportedly Reached Out to Nationals About CJ Abrams
"But while one team already checked on Abrams, it was not the Yankees," the insider reported.
Two things stand out from that tidbit of information. For one, it's notable that the New York Yankees haven't reached out to the Nationals about Abrams just yet. The AL powerhouse has consistently been linked to the slugging shortstop as possible landing spot, so it's interesting to hear they weren't the ones that contacted Washington.
Heyman added that the Yankees have confidence in their star shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr., and they are reluctant to trade him away because they believe he could be their long-term answer at the position down the line. If New York isn't interesting in Abrams at this time, then that takes a significant landing spot off the board since the Yankees have some high-end prospects in their farm system that might pique the interest of Paul Toboni when it comes to getting fair value for Abrams.
There was no indication by Heyman about which team reached out regarding Abrams. And because so many teams are in the playoff picture right now -- especially in the American League -- that makes it hard to speculate when it comes to who might be looking to add a shortstop.
Of course, the San Francisco Giants tried to make a run at Abrams this past offseason before getting turned down. But it looks like they could be headed towards a fire sale based on how disastrous their 2026 campaign has gone thus far, so they likely aren't the team eyeing Abrams.
Regardless of who it was that reached out, it's clear there continues to be serious interest in making the Nationals an offer that forces them to ship out their young star. Whether that actually comes to fruition or not will be seen at a later date.
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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