The New York Yankees have a major problem at shortstop, and it is not new. Although Anthony Volpe is injured, he is being replaced by Jose Caballero, who isn’t very impactful either. They were looking at Nationals for that replacement, but that seems to have hit a bump. But Nationals President still doesn’t rule out that move.

A few days ago, it was reported that the Yankees were interested in $4.2M star CJ Abrams of the Nationals. But later, they said that the Yankees seem to be losing interest. But after the new interview by Paul Toboni, Abrams’ deal is still not fully out of the window.

Paul Toboni said, “He’s a big part of our core here. So if we’re going to consider trading CJ, like, we better be getting a lot back in return.”

The Washington Nationals have made it clear that they are not shopping for CJ Abrams, but they are not closing the doors either. President Paul Toboni has set a high threshold for Abrams trade discussions. The Nationals control Abrams for the next 3 years.

This gives them a significant edge in bargaining with top contenders, even though Abrams has only a $4.2M salary for 2026. They already showed that by rejecting the Giants when they came after Abrams.

But another big team that was interested was the Yankees. The reports linked New York due to the unstable shortstop situation the club has. It was reported that Anthony Volpe will not start for the Yankees when the season starts after the surgery. But even without that, Volpe was bad in 2025 with an average of .212 and a 19-error season.

This opened the door for Jose Caballero, who was a significant upgrade to Volpe with an average of .266 in 40 games. He also stole 49 bases, even though he had limited game time. Although the difference between Volpe and Caballero looks big, it isn’t because we have not seen enough of Caballero. And that is exactly why the Yankees need CJ Abrams.

And there was interest from the Yankees, but that deal hit a snag. The problem was that CJ Abrams also did not have a good 2025 season and posted negative defensive numbers. Abrams had 22 errors at shortstop with a -6 DRS. But he made up for that in his offense with a .257 average and 19 homers.

And New York has the potential to fulfill the needs of President Toboni, who said that they will need “a lot back in return.” Scouts noted that the Nationals will need either MLB-ready players or a couple of top-level prospects to trade away Abrams.

One trade projection said that the Yankees could trade away Anthony Volpe, Spencer Jones, and Chase Hampton and get CJ Abrams.

This will give the Washington Nationals both a top-level prospect who is ready for his debut and an MLB-ready player. And for New York, this will be a significant addition to the team. With huge support from the lineup and the ballpark conditions, Abrams could finally hit the mark that his supporters expected of him.

The Nationals have a major part in Abrams getting chased by big teams

CJ Abrams has teams like the Giants and the Yankees going after him, and the Nationals getting him to wiff at the ball less is a major reason. When Paul Toboni took charge, the Washington Nationals pushed hard to modernize baseball operations. They added Trajekt machines, Pulse armbands, and bullpen video tools to match league standards.

And these small changes are already making a big impact in how the players are performing on the field, especially CJ Abrams.

CJ Abrams entered Spring Training with a 32.6% of chase in 2025. But this spring, it has dropped to a 19.1%. His walk percentage has also gone from 5.8% in 2025 to 16.2% in spring. These are not just small differences; these are big differences in numbers that tell that he is getting on base more, all thanks to Trajekt sessions.

With hitters like James Wood behind him, more walks can turn directly into runs.

That improvement gives manager Blake Butera flexibility when setting lineups. For Nationals, closing the technology gap shows results, as Abrams turns patience into real production signs.