The stretch before December 2 could turn into the kind of deadline frenzy baseball doesn’t always see coming. With a lockout looming and no CBA agreement apparently in sight, the window for moves is narrowing fast.
Once the sport is locked out, business stops. That alone could light a fire under front offices across the league.
There’s already a recent example of how this can play out. In the winter of 2021, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien both landed with the Rangers right at the lockout buzzer.
That kind of late push is why some around the game expect a burst of activity before the deadline. Super agent Scott Boras has also hinted that something similar could happen again.
For the Nationals, that creates a very real opening. If this is the year they want to spend, getting it done early would make sense. A fast-moving market rarely rewards hesitation, and the lockout gives clubs a soft deadline whether they like it or not.
That matters on the trade side, too. The possibility of urgency could make the market feel even more crowded, and CJ Abrams is one name that has been on the trade block for about a year now.
If Washington intends to move him, doing it before the lockout would be smart business. Insider Robert Murray included Abrams among players who could be dealt before December 2.
Paul Toboni has already shown he’s willing to act early in his tenure with the Nationals. That makes the next several weeks especially worth watching.
The market could get frantic, and Toboni figures to be right in the middle of it. Nobody can say for certain which move is coming, but there’s a strong sense Washington won’t sit this out.
The Nationals have had time to prepare for this stretch, and they’ve been working toward the gap between the end of the World Series and the start of the lockout for months. Front offices know the rules could change, so there’s plenty of incentive to get ahead of the freeze.
That’s why this feels like the kind of period where Washington could try to improve the roster before everything gets put on hold. There’s a lot of uncertainty around the sport right now, and Jeff Passan has said there’s a real possibility that games are missed.
If that happens, the calendar only gets messier from there. One prediction in the mix is a 100 game season next year, with both sides eventually needing each other once the damage is done.
In Other News...
Nationals Set Up A Prove-It Year With One Big Staff Decision
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For the pitching coaches, the return comes with a different kind of pressure. There was some progress in the team ERA and in the development of individual arms, but the next step is clearer now, and the staff knows it. With assistants and catching coach Bobby Wilson also back, Washington is betting that familiarity can help turn incremental gains into something more substantial this season. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Just Lost A Familiar Catching Option Fans Knew Well
Riley Adams is moving on after a season spent in Triple-A with the Nationals, landing a minor league contract with the Red Sox and a chance to go to spring training as a non-roster player. For Washington, it is another reminder of how quickly catching depth can turn over, especially when a veteran minor league piece reaches free agency and is not added to the 40-man roster.
The Red Sox are bringing Adams in as a depth option behind their primary catchers, giving him a familiar role as a seasoned organizational backup. For Nationals fans, it leaves behind a player they knew well from the farm system and another small but notable bit of roster churn to track as the winter moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospect Keeps Proving He Can Handle Susanas Best Stuff
Kevin Bazzell has spent a good portion of the fall doing one of the harder jobs in prospect baseball: getting in front of Jarlin Susanas electric arm and proving he can handle it. The Nationals catcher has worked with Susana during rehab and regular season outings, then kept that partnership going in the Arizona Fall League, where the right-hander has continued flashing premium velocity and reaching well over 100 mph.
For Bazzell, the challenge has been as much physical as technical. He has shifted to a one-knee-down stance to help with framing, and the fact that he is back catching high-velocity pitching at all says plenty after he recovered from a broken left orbital bone suffered in April. For Washington, it is another encouraging sign that one of its catching prospects can keep up with one of its hardest-throwing arms. [Read more 🡒]