When the Washington Nationals began the 2026 season, trading CJ Abrams by the midseason deadline was a real possibility. The Nationals were entering their sixth year of the rebuild and not expected to take any significant leaps this season.
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Abrams, who does not become a free agent until after the 2028 season, was mentioned throughout the winter in trade rumors, and past regimes have sent away players in similar situations.
But this is a new front office. There is no precedent for how it will act ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, and the team has surpassed almost everyone’s expectations this season. The Nats are hovering around .500 and only a handful of games out of a playoff spot.
Abrams is putting together a career season and would fetch a large haul. Trading him would signify that the Nats are selling and giving up on the season. Buying at the deadline would show the team is trying to compete.
Which way the front office will go, General Manager Anirudh Kilambi said, is still being discussed. With the team on the edge of contending, but not quite there yet, the front office will wait as long as possible, Kilambi said, before making a decision.
“We’re really excited about how we played for the last three months,” Kilambi said Sunday in Baltimore. “We would be doing the franchise a disservice if we didn’t evaluate decisions on both ends of the spectrum.”
The All-Star break, which is July 13-16, typically marks the time when MLB teams determine their plans for the deadline. But this year, the standings are bunched. There are only five teams more than six games out of a playoff spot, so teams aren’t expected to start shopping until closer to the deadline.
That also means that making a move now, if the Nationals decided to, is not likely. The Nationals bullpen, which has the fifth-highest ERA in MLB, could use reinforcements, especially with Richard Lovelady and Mitchell Parker on the injured list.
“It’s just tricky to line up,” President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni said in Boston on Monday. “It’s not to say it’s impossible, but we’ll continue to have those conversations. If we can, we will.”
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If their goal is to sell, trading Abrams now would bring back the biggest return given how he is playing and how much team control remains in his deal. Abrams is hitting .273 with a .866 OPS, marks that would be the best of his career if the season ended today. He also already has 18 home runs, just two away from his career high, and 60 RBI, five away from his career high. He will almost certainly be named an All-Star for the second time in his career when the team is announced later this month.
The Nationals, Toboni said, plan to keep Abrams and any other trade candidates in the loop. Communication has been a hallmark of the new staff, and they plan to continue doing that during trade season.
“No one is blindsided, regardless of where we land. … It’s a business sometimes, and we have to make hard decisions,” Toboni said. “These guys get it, CJ especially gets it, but I think he also really appreciates the communication.”
Foster Griffin, who is on a one-year, $5.5 million deal, could be a valuable rental piece for a contending team. He’s pitched to a 2.93 ERA in 17 starts while averaging just under six innings per outing.
If he’s not traded, the Nationals could also re-sign him, although given how he’s pitched in the first half, he probably will not be as affordable for a front office that has been reluctant to spend.
“We’re not at the point where we have to make a decision on that, but Foster’s been awesome for us,” Toboni said. “Couldn’t say enough great things about him, and he’s going to thrive wherever he is in the future.”
There is a third option between selling and buying. The Nationals could make small trades to address pitching woes without going too far in one direction or the other. With most of their core under team control until at least 2030, the Nationals have to balance going for it this year and sending away key prospects with ensuring they don’t give up too much and sacrifice their ability to contend for years to come.
“I think overall we’re trying to maximize the number of World Series we bring to Washington,” Kilambi said. “If there is a scenario where we feel like we can substantially improve our World Series odds this year, we’re comfortable with that. If there’s scenarios where we could substantially improve our World Series odds over the next five to 10 years, we would be excited to make a trade like that as well.”
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Noah White contributed to this report.
