The Giants made an unsuccessful attempt to catch up CJ Abrams at the Nationals, reports Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. It’s unclear exactly what package San Francisco would put together, though Baggarly added that they were open to building a deal with an eye toward top shortstops. Joshua Gonzalez.
Washington traded MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers to get a five-man package led by last year’s starter Gavin Fien. The Washington Post reported that they were shopping with Abrams, even though they had more questions than they had with Gore. Abrams has been under arbitration for three seasons compared to Gore’s two.
Each of the past two seasons, Abrams has been the dominant hitter at the All-Star Break before exiting in the second half. He was slightly better than average overall, hitting .252/.315/.433 in over 1200 plate appearances over the last two years. Abrams has 39 homers and 62 stolen bases with slightly below-average strikeout and walk marks in that span. He is an above-average regular with an All-Star level ceiling that he has yet to reach.
Abrams returns some of the value with the glove. He is one of the weakest shortstops in MLB and only leads Elly De La Cruz with 39 errors over the past two seasons. It was mostly of the bowling variety, however Statcast didn’t look good on his range either. Abrams will play better in second base or center field. He became the full-time shortstop on a Washington team that had perhaps the worst infield defense in the majors.
Despite the odds, Abrams should be very interested in the commercial market. He’s 25 years old and an athlete who fits somewhere in the middle of the diamond. He’s the sixth overall pick and a top prospect with spots where he’s an impressive table runner at one of the program’s top two spots. The Giants certainly could have moved him to second instead of playing him at shortstop over Willy Adams.
Gonzalez ranked 30th and 44th, respectively, on the 100 best prospects from Baseball America and MLB Pipeline this week. None of the players acquired for the Nationals by Gore made this list. It seems fair to assume that Washington inspectors rate Fien more than those stores do. They probably wouldn’t have traded two years into Gore’s arbitration window if they didn’t feel they were getting a Top 100 talent.
They may also not be as high on Gonzalez as others. It is normal for clubs to have different views on prospects. That’s especially true for someone like Gonzalez, an 18-year-old whose professional experience includes 52 games in the Dominican Summer League. Teams don’t have many statistical records to work with, so the analysis of players who are far from MLB-ready is weighted more heavily by their individual scouts.
Either way, Baggarly’s report doesn’t back down from the idea that the Nationals would want more from Abrams than they had from Gore. The report suggests that while the Giants are not interested in trading their top prospect, the rookie first baseman. Bryce Eldridgediscussed most of their other top talent with Washington. Eldridge and Gonzalez are San Francisco’s only top 100 prospects on MLB Pipeline. Baseball America had an outfielder Bo Davidson and an infielder Johnny Level at the back of their list. Baggarly’s piece has more specifics on the prospects that came up in the interviews, and Giants fans are encouraged to read it in full.
Abrams would be the prize for San Francisco’s quiet season thus far. They chose to put the floor on the ceiling with their rotating symbols Tyler Mahle again Adrian Houser. They did nothing to tackle the outfield (especially right field), and they never came out with the improvements they wanted. Casey Schmitt on second base. He’s more of a passer but fits better as a top-flight player. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported last week that the Giants were looking for a key second baseman in a trade.
San Francisco is attached to it Brendan Donovan again Nico Hoerner at various locations during the off season. No player has been sold. Donovan still seems more likeable than not moving — certainly before the trade deadline if not on Opening Day — while the Cubs should be reluctant to deal Hoerner. Abrams is still with him, although it is not clear whether the parties are willing to get back together.
