Why the SF Giants should secretly be glad Nationals trade for CJ Abrams fell through

The SF Giants reportedly made a strong push to land Washington Nationals infielder CJ Abrams but were rebuffed in their efforts. While it is a bit embarrassing, the Giants may very well look back and be thankful that a deal did not get done.

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported that the Giants dangled pretty much all of their top prospects other than Bryce Eldridge. They were prepared to give up Josuar Gonzalez, Jhonny Level, Bo Davidson, Carson Whisenhunt, and Jacob Bresnahan according to reporting but the Nationals were not enticed enough to make a deal.

SF Giants should be glad CJ Abrams trade talks fell through

That is a little bit surprising considering the Nationals are in more of a rebuild mode. One would think they might be interested in acquiring a lot of intriguing young talent to see if they could try and get things back on track as a franchise, but they obviously want a lot for Abrams.

To be fair, Abrams is already a proven commodity. The 25-year-old was an All-Star in 2024 and put up similar numbers in 2025, slashing .257/315/.433 with 19 home runs, 60 runs batted in, and 31 stolen bases. He has put up fairly similar numbers each of the last three seasons so he has quickly become a solid, reliable player who could certainly be a nice upgrade for San Francisco at second base.

However, Abrams is not a perfect player by any stretch. Giving up that much young talent for him seems like a bit of a risk even though he is under team control through 2028. He is young enough that Washington probably views him as potential key part of the team’s core going forward that could help get the team back to the playoffs, but they have been shopping him a bit and already traded away MacKenzie Gore so they might be in a selling mood.

But the Giants should not make a move just to make a move. Acting out of desperation is how teams get in trouble and hurt themselves in the long run. While Abrams would be a decided upgrade, the Giants would be fine with Casey Schmitt as their starting second baseman to start 2026.

Schmitt was solid in the role last season, and who knows maybe he will take a step forward and become a more reliable player. He has the skills to be a solid everyday player and, if given the opportunity, he could prove to be a lineup fixture.

This Abrams episode is a bit embarrassing for the Giants since it has now spilled out publicly, but giving up that much for a player like Abrams is risky to say the least so it may be a good thing if a deal does not materialize unless Washington’s asking price goes down significantly.