Once upon a time, in this very land we live in, Jim Edmonds got traded during spring training. Josh Donaldson once got traded during spring training. Dylan Cease once got traded during spring training. Craig Kimbrel even got traded twice during spring training.

So it happens! It just doesn’t happen much.

But is there a good old-fashioned blockbuster deal coming during this spring training? Don’t say, “No way,” too hastily. We just finished conducting our annual spring preview survey of 36 executives, former executives, managers, coaches and scouts. And you know who doesn’t think a monster spring deal is out of the question over these next six weeks?

The people voting in that survey don’t.

Every year, I ask them for a few names of players who could get traded in the spring. You know how many names they fired at me this year? Amazingly, that would be 28! That’s the most in the history of this survey.

Curious about who they are? Of course you are. Here are the players mentioned the most.

Most likely to get traded this spring

CJ Abrams — 7
Sandy Alcantara — 6
Isaac Paredes — 4
Lars Nootbaar — 3
Tarik Skubal — 3
Joe Ryan — 3
Kris Bubic — 3

There were also lots of familiar names lower on this tote board. Not to mention a vote for “Pick a Marlin.” So what was the scuttlebutt that accompanied those names? Let’s dig in.

Is there still room for Abrams in D.C.? 

It isn’t often that a 25-year-old former All-Star shortstop, with three years of team control, becomes an item of legitimate trade chatter. But in the case of Abrams, this is more than just the usual rumor-mill buzzing.

As The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported last month, the Nationals and Giants did some serious talking this winter about a deal that would have sent Abrams to San Francisco — and that talk involved some of the Giants’ best prospects not named Bryce Eldridge.

Turns out the Nationals’ price wasn’t right for the Giants — or for any of the other teams doing middle-infield shopping this winter. But if you think that means Abrams is staying put, I have a Washington Monument I’d like to sell you.

“Anybody on the Nationals” could get traded, said one National League exec who took our survey.

And one American League exec said of those talks with the Giants: “I know they had legs.”

Asked about rumblings that the Nationals front office was downplaying the idea that Abrams could still get moved before Opening Day, the same exec said: “I don’t believe it. Their goal right now is to have the No. 1-ranked system in baseball. So anything that could help them get there, they’re going to do.”

Mr. Sandman, make me an offer

If I had 10 bucks for every Sandy Alcantara trade rumor I’ve heard in the last year, I could buy my own penthouse in South Beach. So one of these days, one of those rumors is going to come true.

Is that day going to arrive in the next six weeks? I wouldn’t bet on that. But as one exec said of the Marlins, “they’re open for business.”

Alcantara feels more lined up for a trade deadline shopping spree than a St. Patrick’s Day shopping spree. He’ll pitch this year at age 30. He’s signed through this year, with a $21 million club option for 2027. And it seemingly would make the most sense for the Marlins to bide their time and let him prove that his second-half revival last year (7-3, with a 3.33 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and an opponent OPS+ of just 75) meant that Cy Young Sandy was back.

The Marlins also keep talking about trying to compete — and they’ve already traded Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers to create more opportunity for their young arms. So none of that points to any Alcantara deals dropping out of the Miami skies anytime soon.

But one rival exec isn’t so sure. The Marlins can deal from strength, he said, because of all the high-ceiling rotation depth in their system — so “depending on what they see early, it could prompt them to do it.”

The price tag, however, remains very high — meaning Cy Young Award-winner, deadline-frenzy rates apply. So it feels far more likely we’ll get four more months of Alcantara rumors than a trade before Opening Day.

Will we see a ticker-tape Paredes?

Will the Astros make a move? Isaac Paredes received the third-most votes in our survey. (Alex Slitz / Getty Images)

One of the most revealing parts of this survey is keeping track of when certain votes roll in. The voting takes place over about a week. And while early on, the hottest names were Alcantara and Abrams, a different name started piling up votes late:

Isaac Paredes.

I tend to take that as a sign the Astros have hit the gas pedal in their attempts to help clear up their infield mess by moving Paredes (or possibly Christian Walker) sooner than later.

All four of the votes for Paredes rolled in over the last 24 hours before I cut off the balloting. And one of those votes came from an exec whose team is looking for infield bats. His strong impression is that the Astros are feeling more urgency to tidy up their roster in the near future.

“That’s going to be a tough situation to manage,” he said, “if everyone is healthy.”

Anyone else who could move?

A spring Skubal trade? “I’ll believe it when I see it,” an AL Central exec said, “but …” (never say never).” (Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Here’s a quick look at some other names on that Most Likely to Get Traded list.

Skubal — Nothing about the current vibe around the Tigers suggests that they’re seriously considering moving Skubal this spring. But who knows where this is leading?

He’s flooring it down the road to the richest free-agent pitching contract ever next winter. But is that happening in Detroit? Seems like an awful bet. Meanwhile, is it possible there will be lingering issues from his historic win in arbitration? Heck, anything is possible. So no wonder one rival AL Central exec wouldn’t rule this out.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said, “but …” (never say never).

Nootbaar — “I think St. Louis is still going,” said one rival NL exec. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if Nootbaar or (Alec) Burleson got moved.”

Ryan — Trying to guess what the Twins might do next has never been harder, as the new controlling owner, Tom Pohlad, begins to exert more influence. But it was notable that a rival AL Central voter cast this Most Likely to Get Traded vote: “Joe Ryan or Pablo López . One pitching injury and the Twins have a real dilemma.”

Others who got votes — Mostly, this is just a list of the usual suspects. But I’m passing along the best of these names as a public service.

Byron Buxton*
Pablo López*
Nico Hoerner*
Nick Pivetta
Mark Vientos
Jaren Duran
Wilyer Abreu
Jake Cronenworth
Patrick Sandoval
Alec Bohm
Yandy Díaz
James Wood
Matt Shaw

All of those guys got one vote apiece, except for the three with an asterisk. They got two apiece. Are any of them really going to get traded? Just keep in mind that the biggest name to get traded last spring was … Mark Canha. On the other hand, you never know. After all, it’s …

Baseball!