Mariner Talk Chat Forum

I suppose we'll kick this off with a few different things that happened.

The Brewers traded for Lance McCullers from the Astros. Some say this could be a foreshadow of a Luis Castillo market considering McCullers has been the worst pitcher in baseball the last 2 years... albeit a pure rental.
A Red Sox beat reporter starts a silly (fake) rumor that the Red Sox have "started talks" to trade for OF James Wood from the Nats.
From a National's fan website: "The only problem is, while Abrams drew buzz as a potential mover ahead of 2026, Wood has never been viewed to be as a possible trade candidate -- and president of baseball operations Paul Toboni confirmed that on Wednesday.

Though no edit to the story was highlighted, USA Today updated their story to remove mention of Wood as a possible trade candidate thanks to Toboni directly reaching out to Nightengale to clear any rumors before it took a life of its own. Shortly after, during the 2026 MLB Draft, Toboni then walked down to the batting cages to tell Wood directly that the front office has yet to explore any possible trade interest regarding the local outfielder.

"Quite honestly in the middle of the draft, walked right down to the batting cages and grabbed [James Wood] and was like, 'I don't know if you saw this but it's not true,'" Toboni said on his weekly 106.7 radio appearance.

Toboni did admit that the front office has "had some conversations" surrounding Abrams, conversations that the Nationals have kept the star shortstop in the loop on."

I suppose this means that CJ Abrams is indeed on the block and if so, the M's should be doing everything to land him and put him at 3B.

As nice as it would be to have Abrams, as we touched on previously there's a logjam on the left side of the infield and neither Emerson, Donovan or JP are going anywhere. The only way that's getting broken up is if Donovan is out for the season or Emerson is included in a trade package for Abrams.

Also, Abrams is a shortstop and has never played third in the majors. They'd have to ask him first before trading for him if he'd play third and he might well tell them to stick it.

DavidGee24 wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 6:25 pm

As nice as it would be to have Abrams, as we touched on previously there's a logjam on the left side of the infield and neither Emerson, Donovan or JP are going anywhere. The only way that's getting broken up is if Donovan is out for the season or Emerson is included in a trade package for Abrams.

Also, Abrams is a shortstop and has never played third in the majors. They'd have to ask him first before trading for him if he'd play third and he might well tell them to stick it.

JP is a free agent in '27 and I doubt they re-sign him. Could very well send him back in the trade as a throw in to the Nats to finish out his contract so they have someone at SS to finish out the year (alongside some top prospects). That is what a team who cared about winning would do at least. The Nats could also have a use for JP on a future short-term deal while they wait for Eli Willits get there.

Before he was injured, the M's were looking at moving Donovan back to a OF/IF role.

If you can make a move to make the team far better, I think you break up the log jam.

Here's a trade:

M's trade Farmelo, Arroyo, Peters, JP, Raley to the Nats for Abrams and Orlando Ribalta.

Getting rid of Raley would mean you can move Donovan to RF.

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Why would the Nats trade Abrams. They are building not tearing down....

We should have trade for CJ 2-3 years ago like I suggested but now its too late. Isn't a FA until 2029.

D-train wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:03 pm

Why would the Nats trade Abrams. They are building not tearing down....

Their owner said they are listening.

But the answer is... he is only controlled for 2 more seasons and is having a breakout year. If you don't believe you can re-sign him or/and believe that you can contend over the next 2 seasons (the pitching is just dreadful), then you trade him at peak value with low control to land the best package you can.

And they could theoretically trade him to make their current roster more complete and add more depth to their farm for the future.

Hancock, Arroyo, Raley in a trade would give them a frontline SP... and 2x position players to slot at 2B and RF, areas where they've really struggled.

Seattle or Bust wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:16 pm

D-train wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:03 pm

Why would the Nats trade Abrams. They are building not tearing down....

Their owner said they are listening.

But the answer is... he is only controlled for 2 more seasons and is having a breakout year. If you don't believe you can re-sign him or/and believe that you can contend over the next 2 seasons (the pitching is just dreadful), then you trade him at peak value with low control to land the best package you can.

And they could theoretically trade him to make their current roster more complete and add more depth to their farm for the future.

Hancock, Arroyo, Raley in a trade would give them a frontline SP... and 2x position players to slot at 2B and RF, areas where they've really struggled.

Only four games out of a playoff spot.

D-train wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:21 pm

Seattle or Bust wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:16 pm

D-train wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:03 pm

Why would the Nats trade Abrams. They are building not tearing down....

Their owner said they are listening.

But the answer is... he is only controlled for 2 more seasons and is having a breakout year. If you don't believe you can re-sign him or/and believe that you can contend over the next 2 seasons (the pitching is just dreadful), then you trade him at peak value with low control to land the best package you can.

And they could theoretically trade him to make their current roster more complete and add more depth to their farm for the future.

Hancock, Arroyo, Raley in a trade would give them a frontline SP... and 2x position players to slot at 2B and RF, areas where they've really struggled.

Only four games out of a playoff spot.

With 6 teams ahead of them in the mix.

They know they don't have the pitching to keep up.