Bullet point summary by AI
- Three MLB teams are now positioned to make transformative upgrades at the trade deadline by targeting the same All-Star shortstop.
- Each contender offers a unique blend of immediate help and long-term value, with farm systems deep enough to absorb the steep asking price.
- The decision each franchise faces now hinges on whether to prioritize short-term playoff contention or a rebuild around young talent.
The Washington Nationals can go a couple different directions at the MLB trade deadline. At 52-51, this team is talented enough — and competitive enough — to mount a real Wild Card push. A couple bullpen upgrades, maybe a dependable starting pitcher, and suddenly the Nats feel like the real deal.
Or Washington can decide to blow it up. Decide that the team is not close enough as is, with the worst bullpen in baseball, a paper-thin rotation and a lineup that’s explosive and volatile in equal measure. If the Nationals decide to look toward the future, trading All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, with two additional years on his contract, would net a massive haul of future impact prospects.
Red Sox trade package for CJ Abrams
Washington will command a significant haul for Abrams, who’s enjoying career-best productivity at the plate. He’s up to 24 home runs and 16 stolen bases, with a .904 OPS and 147 OPS+. He’s outperforming his metrics, but a 25-year-old shortstop with elite power and speed — and a controllable contract — almost never becomes available midseason.
Boston has started probing the market for Trevor Story replacements, with Anaheim’s Zach Neto also in the conversation. Abrams is clearly the best fit. His swing should play well at Fenway. He’d join a lineup that consists of Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela, with hope still for a triumphant late return from Roman Anthony.
Abrams is not without his flaws. He’s arguably the worst defensive shortstop in baseball (-11 outs above average), with too much swing-and-miss in his diet at the plate. Still, the power and speed would add a whole new dynamic to MLB’s hottest team.
In return, Washington adds two top-five prospects in the Red Sox system in 19-year-old outfielder Justin Gonzales and 21-year-old pitcher Kyson Witherspoon, both of whom are in High-A at the moment. Witherspoon, however, has nasty stuff and should climb the minor league ranks quickly. The Nats also get a couple more MLB-ready prospects in 22-year-old infielder Mikey Romero, who offers real pull-side power if he can improve his swing decisions, and 27-year-old reliever Tyler Uberstine, who can help an abysmal Nats bullpen from the jump.
Yankees trade package for CJ Abrams
With every path to consistent MLB at-bats blocked in New York, Spencer Jones is an obvious trade chip. The 25-year-old lefty has 40-home run potential if he can improve his hit tool. Jones’ long, inaccurate swing mechanics and tendency to fish outside the zone leave him vulnerable to extended cold spells, but he hits the baseball extremely hard. There’d be excitement in D.C. about what Jones and James Wood — two young outfielders with the physiques of old Greek statues — could accomplish.
Yankees fans are probably less keen on trading 23-year-old fireballer Carlos Langrange, who lit up the radar gun in spring training and looked like New York’s next homegrown ace. Unfortunately, he hasn’t really found his command in Triple-A this season, with an inflated 4.55 ERA. He might offer the most raw talent of any prospect mentioned in this article, but Lagrange is behind fellow top prospect Elmer Rodríguez on the Yankees’ org chart. There’s enough volatility to consider trading him for a controllable star like Abrams.
Washington also takes a flier on 18-year-old shortstop Stiven Marinez and 22-year-old pitcher Steven Heuer, who are longer-term development plays.
For the Yankees, it’s a chance to end the Anthony Volpe experiment once and for all, establishing CJ Abrams as their future at a position of immense on-field and sentimental importance in the Bronx.
Brewers trade package for CJ Abrams
Milwaukee has the deepest farm system in MLB, give or take the Dodgers, which improves their odds dramatically. The Brewers typically prefer internal developmental over splashy, knee-jerk trades, but Milwaukee is gunning for the No. 1 seed with a real chance to dethrone L.A. if Jacob Misiorowski is in top form come October. This team needs to put its thumb on the scale at some point and go all-in.
Abrams would help Milwaukee at a position where production has been sparse ever since Willy Adames’ departure in free agency. Abrams does not align with the standard Brewers ethos as a poor defender who strikes out a ton, but his speed would play well on a fast team that runs the bases aggressively. Moreover, he provides the sort of middle-order power that was missing from past iterations of this Brewers roster, all of which invariably flamed out in October.
The price is steep, but the Brewers are equipped to pay it. It starts with 21-year-old outfielder Luis Lara and 22-year-old utilityman Jett Williams (the latter was acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade last winter). Lara has already cracked the MLB roster. He’s a speedy centerfielder with Gold Glove potential, if a few questions about how the bat will translate get answered. Williams is another phenomenal defender who can burn rubber, in keeping with Milwaukee’s values. He can play all over the diamond, with a polished hit tool that’s starting to wake up after a slow start to the campaign in Triple-A.
Jeferson Quero, a 23-year-old catcher, and Coleman Crow, a 25-year-old pitcher, are also in Triple-A, meaning the Nats would be loading up on potential short-term contributors. Quero is a tremendous backstop and game manager, but he needs to prove the bat can translate. Crow is probably a back-end starter or long reliever, but he spins a mean curveball.
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