If the Mariners are going to kick the tires on CJ Abrams, they’ve got a built-in translator for the conversation in CJ Gillman.
Seattle’s new hitting coach spent 2026 running the Nationals’ hitting program, which means he had a close look at Abrams during the season that turned the 25-year-old middle infielder into one of Washington’s most dangerous bats. Abrams put up 33 home runs and 34 stolen bases, the kind of power-speed combo that naturally gets a front office’s attention.
The bat is the easy part to dream on. Abrams hit .261/.336/.497 with 30 doubles in 2026 and finished with an .834 OPS.
In a Mariners lineup, he’d fit neatly ahead of Julio Rodríguez or Cal Raleigh, and that’s the sort of placement that can turn a single baserunner into a serious problem. Leave a pitch in the wrong spot and he can do the damage himself.
Gillman’s time in Washington also lines up with a real jump in Abrams’ underlying power numbers. His barrel rate rose from 7.6 percent in 2025 to 10.6 in 2026, and he barreled 45 balls, ten more than the year before, even though 32 fewer of them were put in play. His average launch angle climbed from 13.3 to 18 degrees, and he started pulling more balls in the air.
Of course, the swing-and-miss comes with it. Abrams struck out 24.2 percent of the time, up from 19.7 percent, and his .438 expected slugging percentage is a reminder not to treat the .497 mark like a guarantee.
That said, his expected slugging still improved by 37 points from 2025, and his walk rate climbed from 5.8 to 8.7 percent. More walks, more damage when he connects, and enough speed to make the whole package play.
The bigger issue for Seattle might be where he fits. Statcast had Abrams at -17 Outs Above Average, worse than J.P.
Crawford’s -13, and Washington was already working on moving him to second base by August. That defensive profile should matter just as much as the home run total to a Mariners club that needed Crawford to make more plays at shortstop in 2026.
Second base sounds like the obvious landing spot, but that’s also where Cole Young just won a Gold Glove and played a full season while hitting 17 homers. Young’s .693 OPS trails Abrams’ .834 by a wide margin, but the Mariners would still have to sort out where Young gets his at-bats.
There’s also a path where Young moves to shortstop and Colt Emerson slides to third. Either way, adding Abrams would force Seattle to reshuffle a lot of infield pieces after paying what it would take to get him out of Washington.
And there’s one more thing Seattle would want Gillman to weigh in on: the person, not just the player.
Washington sent Abrams to Triple-A in September 2024 after, according to ESPN, he spent the night at a Chicago-area casino and left just hours before a day game against the Cubs. Then-manager Dave Martinez called the demotion an internal matter.
That was two seasons ago, and Gillman has a more current view of how Abrams handled his work. Before the Mariners start building a trade package, they’d want to know how Gillman felt about trusting him every day.
With the seriousness of the Mariners’ new manager, Jason Kanzler, there would also be questions about how Abrams would fit his management style.
The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum has reported that the Nationals are inclined to keep Abrams. That doesn’t close the door on a conversation. It just means Seattle would have to decide whether the appeal of the bat is worth the cost, especially with the glove still a concern and Young already in the picture.
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