The Giants, who have had a rather quiet offseason thus far, again appear to have fallen short of making a big move to bolster their 2026 roster.
San Francisco pursued a trade for Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams but couldn’t come to an agreement, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported Friday, citing league sources.
The Giants aggressively pursued shortstop CJ Abrams but were unable to agree on a fair return with the Nationals, according to major-league sources. pic.twitter.com/t7lXDSjlvs
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) January 23, 2026
Per Baggarly’s report, the Giants were willing to include several of their top prospects in a potential trade, including young shortstops Josuar Gonzalez and Jhonny Level, left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt and outfielder Bo Davidson. All four of those players are among San Francisco’s top seven prospects per MLB Pipeline, and all but Whisenhunt were listed in Baseball America’s top 100 MLB prospects list from earlier this week.
The Nationals already brought in a significant haul for left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore on Thursday, acquiring five prospects from the Texas Rangers. So, the Giants likely had to surrender a lot in order to get Abrams, who is under team control until 2029.
Abrams, 25, was an All-Star in 2024 and has been a consistent all-around player through his first four MLB seasons. The former No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres offers a rare blend of power and speed, averaging 19 home runs and 36 stolen bases per year since the start of 2023.
Though he has played shortstop for the Nationals, Baggarly reported that Abrams would have slotted in for Casey Schmitt at second base in San Francisco, with Willy Adames holding down the other middle-infield spot.
However, with the Giants appearing to have moved on from Abrams, Buster Posey and Co. must find other avenues to improve the team, whether it’s in free agency or a different trade. San Francisco frequently has been linked to trade rumors around a pair of second basemen: the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and the Chicago Cubs’ Nico Hoerner.
Additionally, Baggarly reported the Giants “are poised to engage” in talks with free-agent center fielder Harrison Bader, who could supplant their currently shaky outfield situation.
With pitchers and catchers set to report for spring training in under three weeks, San Francisco doesn’t have much time left to make the splashy move fans have been craving all offseason.
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