The Washington Nationals’ rebuild may be on the verge of a rebuild.
The Nationals have expressed a willingness to trade both shortstop CJ Abrams and pitcher MacKenzie Gore, according to Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Washington is not desperately trying to trade either player, however, and the price is high on each of them.
The rumors will likely be disheartening for Nationals fans, who have not seen the franchise put together a winning season since their World Series year of 2019. Abrams and Gore were both acquired as key pieces of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, and were expected to form the core of the team’s rebuild. Gore is under team control through 2027, and Abrams through 2028.
Abrams was an All-Star in 2024, but had an arguably better year in 2025, hitting .257 with 19 home runs. Gore has established himself as a tough lefty starter who struck out 185 batters in 159.2 innings pitched last season to go with a 4.17 ERA and an All-Star nod.
The Nationals hired a new team president this offseason in Paul Toboni, and he seems eager to reset the organization. They have hired a very young manager and potentially see Abrams and Gore as pieces that could allow them to acquire a larger pool of young talent to develop moving forward.
