New MLB Trade Rumors on CJ Abrams Reveal Nationals' Stance on Move Amid Red Sox Buzz

The trade market for Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams is reportedly heating up.

According to Spencer Nusbaum and Will Sammon of The Athletic, Abrams is "the most valuable player on the trade market, according to some rival evaluators."

That said, the Nationals "are not shopping Abrams, according to people briefed on the club's thinking. But they will at least listen to offers, which they anticipate will be more serious than they were over the winter as he tracks toward career highs in, well, just about everything," per Nusbaum and Sammon.

That comes one day after USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Boston Red Sox "have their eyes on Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto or Abrams."

The Nationals will weigh a number of considerations before potentially trading him, including how the team performs leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline and whether the sorts of offers they receive are enough to sway a front office that has previously balked at dealing Abrams, per The Athletic's report.

The Nationals are currently 52-52, putting them 9.5 games out of first place in the NL East but just three games out of the final Wild Card berth.

But Washington has hovered around .500 the entire season, has infield prospects like Eli Willits, Seaver King, Ronny Cruz, Devin Fitz-Gerald and Chris Hacopian waiting in the wings and Abrams is having a career year, hitting .288 with 24 homers, 76 RBI, 63 runs and a .905 OPS.

He's potentially at the height of his value, in other words, and at 25 is still under club control for two seasons beyond the 2026 campaign. That is the recipe for a massive trade package returning to Washington.

So the Nationals have a lot to consider in the next week. Expect Abrams to pop up in plenty of trade rumors in the meantime.