CJ Abrams is making it harder for the Washington Nationals to trade him. The 25-year-old shortstop has performed well in 2026, helped power one of baseball’s best offenses, and given Washington a real chance to keep him in the lineup all season.
That is a sharp turn from the winter, when the Nationals chose to hold onto Abrams despite rumored interest from multiple teams around the league. James Wood and Abrams have been central to the club’s fast start, and Washington now looks like a team that got the decision right, at least for the moment. Abrams had already built a track record as a dangerous everyday player, with three straight seasons of 18-plus home runs and 30-plus steals before he entered his prime, but his bat was never the only reason teams kept calling.
His defense is the problem. Abrams is one of the worst defenders in baseball, and that reputation is the main reason Washington may not be able to demand a generational return if it does put him on the trade market. The Nationals know that too, which is why they have been working nonstop with him to improve his defense. Club officials believe they are close to unlocking something with Abrams at shortstop, and that belief is now part of the calculus around whether to move him at all.
The timing matters because Washington’s options are changing as the season unfolds. If Abrams makes significant strides in the field, the Nationals could ask for better prospects in a trade. If they want to deal him over the summer, they may be able to wait until July and see whether the defensive gains are real. If they decide to hold off until the offseason, he would have even more time to improve, and more time to change the way other teams view him.
That leaves the Nationals in an unusual position for a player who had looked like a likely trade candidate heading toward the deadline. Abrams is not just an asset to shop now. He is also a 25-year-old regular whose value could keep climbing if the defense catches up with the bat. Washington wants to show the rest of the league that he can become at least a league-average defender, and if that happens, the club’s choice gets a lot more complicated.
For now, the safest read is that Abrams may spend the entire 2026 season in Washington. The offense has given the Nationals a reason to keep believing, and his improved stock gives them a reason to wait. The next move may depend less on what Abrams can do with the bat than on whether the work at shortstop finally starts to show.
