For the Nationals to Trade CJ Abrams, They Need a Soto-Like Return

The Juan Soto trade back in 2022 has become fully realized this season, as the two center pieces of that trade are leading the best offense in all of baseball. James Wood and CJ Abrams are the co-stars of a unit that is leading the league in home runs, run scored and wRC+ entering play on July 29th.

At just 23 years old, and armed with four and half years of team control, Wood is clearly the face of the franchise moving forward in D.C. He was one of the first five hitters in baseball to reach 30 home runs this season, and is leading the league in runs scored by 20.

Part of the reason Wood is scoring so much is because of who’s hitting a few spots behind him in the lineup, as Abrams is leading the league with 86 RBIs out of the cleanup spot. The 25-year-old shortstop is three home runs away from 30 himself, and has seemingly put it altogether for the first time offensively.

After two years in a row where Abrams followed up a strong first half with a disappointing second half, this time around he has come out of the gates to blast seven home runs in his first 10 games out of the break.

Considering the success the Nationals are having, one might think the best course of action would be to hold onto this core and start building towards the future. At the same time, Abrams is two and a half years away from free agency, and set to hit the market after his age-27 season.

If the Nationals have no intention of extending Abrams, an argument can be made that this is the time to think about cashing in on an asset whose market value may never be higher.

In a lot of ways, this is a repeat of the decision they made with Soto back in 2022, and considering how well that one turned out, the Nationals may have to consider what it would look like if they doubled down on this rebuild.

Is CJ Abrams Really as Valuable as Juan Soto Was in 2022?

Comparing Abrams to Juan Soto sounds crazy on the surface, as we are talking about an inner-circle Hall of Famer being comped to a player who we are still waiting on becoming a perennial All-Star.

While Abrams has accomplished far less in his career than Soto had back in 2022, you may be surprised just how similar their trade value is when provided with the full context.

First off, there is the statistical comparison of Soto in 2022 to Abrams’ breakout season now in 2026.

Abrams is slugging 85 points better this season than Soto was back in 2022, and is a bigger threat on the basepaths as well. While Abrams is not a great defender at shortstop, the difference in fWAR shows you that a bad shortstop is more valuable than a bad corner outfielder.

When Soto was traded to the Padres, he had the exact same amount of team control left as Abrams does now. The Nationals were much further away back then, and the chances of retaining Soto were next to zero, so that decision was admittedly easier than this one.

The Nationals are competing now with Abrams in the fold, and could very easily contend in one of the next few seasons if he stuck around with Wood. They don’t have to trade him. But they also have to listen.

And when you consider the lack of impact bats on the market, there is a chance that they get a mega-haul that rivals the one they landed for Soto.

Sound crazy? Here are four landing spots with mock trades that could get the Nationals to bite and deal Abrams at the deadline.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: The Most Complete Package

RHP Brody Hopkins (No. 49), C Nathan Flewelling (No. 54), RHP Michael Forret, OF Brendan Summerhill

The Tampa Bay Rays have a real chance to make it back to the World Series this year, and CJ Abrams could be the missing piece. Slotting Abrams behind a top three of Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero would be a potent combination.

Two top 100 prospects in Brody Hopkins and Nathan Flewelling headline the package, but getting Michael Forret in the deal as well makes this a real coup for a National team that needs controllable starting pitching.

One of the four prospects they landed in the Shane Baz trade, Forret dominated in Double-A this season, pitching to a 2.15 ERA in 10 starts before getting the call to Triple-A.

Across eight starts in Durham, Forret has struggled to a 5.23 ERA while seeing a big spike in his walk rate. A common development hurdle for a top pitching prospect. Still, at 22 years old, Forret should be knocking on the door of a big league promotion in 2027.

Hopkins is the other top pitching prospect in the deal, and he presents even higher upside than Forret. The 24-year-old has frontline potential and is one of the top 50 prospects in baseball.

Getting two starting pitchers who could slot into their 2027 rotation is enticing; add in one of the better young catching prospects in baseball, and you’ve got a deal that is tough to pass on.

Flewelling is a 19-year-old backstop who has spent the entire season in High-A and has hit .258/.383/.475, with 17 home runs and a .858 OPS. The fourth piece is Brendan Summerhill, who is a throw-in, but one who was drafted 42nd overall only one year ago and is still an outfielder with some upside.

This deal has a little bit of everything for the Nationals. Doesn’t necessarily help them more than Abrams would in 2027, but should help them a lot in 2028-2033. The Nationals just have to pick their window.

2. Boston Red Sox: The Best Prospect on the Board

SS Franklin Arias (No. 3), RHP Anthony Eyanson (No. 69), LHP Eduardo Rivera

The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals already made one trade this deadline season; how about another?

The Red Sox may be hesitant to swing another deal considering how the first one blew up on them with Curtis Mead hitting the IL with a fractured wrist, but adding Abrams is a different story. He would immediately upgrade a lineup that could use his power, and he would be a fixture for multiple playoff runs.

Where the Red Sox could stand out in terms of the return is that they can put the absolute best prospect on the table.

Franklin Arias is likely untouchable, as he is one of the very best prospects in all of baseball. The 20-year-old shortstop was just promoted to Triple-A after hitting .318/.407/.587, with 19 home runs in 75 games played. In his first three games in Triple-A, he homered again, marking the first 20-HR season of his pro career.

Getting Arias back alone would be a slam dunk for the Red Sox, but they have leverage to ask for more.

Anthony Eyanson would represent yet another top 100 prospect they would get back in the deal, a 21-year-old right-handed starter who has posted eye-popping numbers between High-A and Double-A this season.

Across 15 games pitched (14 starts), with 10 of those appearances coming in Double-A, Eyanson has pitched to a 1.13 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings pitched. He is holding opposing batters to a .146 average and has a WHIP under 1.00 at 0.86.

Eduardo Rodriguez is the final piece in the deal, giving the Red Sox a second arm, and one who has reached the big leagues this season.

3. Milwaukee Brewers: Mix of a Great Headliner and a Complete Package

SS Luis Peña (No. 16), SS/3B Joey Ortiz, RHP Bishop Letson, RHP Coleman Crow

The Milwaukee Brewers have the type of farm system where every move should be on the table for them, and CJ Abrams is no different. The positional fit isn’t the best, as Abrams does not fit the mold for what you’d expect from a Brewers shortstop.

Rookie Cooper Pratt has done a fine job across his first month manning the position, while Abrams has been one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball (-12 OAA). The only way this trade works is if Abrams embraces a move over to third base.

While Abrams’ best positional fit long-term could be in the outfield, the Brewers outfield of Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell and Luis Lara is pretty impenetrable at the moment. The Brewers would be removing one of their very best defenders in Joey Ortiz in this deal, a player who has gotten hot in the month of July.

Still, the difference in having CJ Abrams in the cleanup spot, compared to Ortiz’s sure-handed glove and pesky at-bat in the nine-hole, is a trade-off I would personally make.

The Nationals take Ortiz back in the deal, giving them a plug-and-play shortstop to stay in the hunt in the NL Wild Card race, and to bridge the gap to the prize of this trade, Luis Peña.

Peña is a top 20 prospect in baseball, giving the Nationals an extremely high-upside prospect to dream on as their shortstop of the future, while Ortiz can be their shortstop of the present.

This trade really comes down to how much the Nationals scouts value Peña, and if they are targeting a 2027 window or a 2028 one. Ortiz helps you in the meantime, and you get two interesting arms in the deal as well with Bishop Letson being the upside play there.

After reaching Double-A for one start in his age-20 season last year, Letson has spent his entire 2026 campaign in Biloxi and has pitched to a 4.26 ERA across 16 Double-A starts.

A 6’4″ right-hander who gets down the mound with great extension and a good fastball, Letson has all the makings of a big league starter; it just might take another year of development.

Coleman Crow helps more in the short-term, as he was up to the big leagues this season and could slot into the Nationals rotation, or at least provide some length out of their bullpen as soon as this season.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers: Only Here to Show How Easily They Can

UTL Tommy Edman, OF Zyhir Hope (No. 40), RHP River Ryan (No. 41), LHP Zach Root

This is a ridiculous one, but bear with me. It is not an exercise in reality; it is rather one in hypothetical to show that the Dodgers can do anything. Do they need CJ Abrams? Absolutely not.

Tommy Edman hasn’t been healthy this year, but when he has been on the field, he has posted a 156 wRC+ and 1.2 fWAR in just 32 games. And he is healthy right now.

The Nationals would obviously lose the run-production of Abrams, but they would get a plug-and-play shortstop in Edman, who could also play anywhere else on the diamond over the next three seasons on a pretty affordable contract. In fact, they would have more control of Edman than they would of Abrams.

On top of that swap, you get two top 50 prospects in baseball, and a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher who pitched to a 2.40 ERA in High-A this year in Zach Root.

Zyhir Hope and River Ryan might just get the Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal, and they really have no need to put it on the table for Abrams. It is just to show that they could, and they wouldn’t even feel it. It’s a wild team.