The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to upgrade their third base situation. However, one somewhat outside-the-box idea that should be on their radar is Washington Nationals infielder CJ Abrams. The Washington Nationals are reportedly at least willing to listen to trade offers for Abrams. While he may not be a third baseman, he’d arguably be just as good of a fit there as some of the other third basemen the Pirates may go after in trade.
Last year, Abrams put up a .257/.315/.433 triple-slash, .324 wOBA, and 107 wRC+. Abrams hit for above-average power, going yard 19 times with an isolated slugging percentage of .176. He also only had a strikeout rate of 19.7%. Abrams, known for his base stealing prowess, went 31-for-34 in stolen base attempts, and had +7 baserunning value per Baseball Savant. The only major downside to his bottom line was his 5.8% walk rate.
Some may raise concerns over his underlying peripherals. Abrams’ xwOBA fell from .320 in 2024 to only .309 in 2025. His xwOBACON also fell 20 percentage points from .370 to .350 between 2024 and 2025. Abram’s 7.6% barrel rate was a career-best mark, but still only in the 37th percentile of batters in 2025. However, there are some reasons why he could out-play what his underlying statistics say.
Abrams is a lefty pull hitter. His 22.2% pulled flyball rate was the 15th highest among any non-switch hitting lefty with at least 500 plate appearances last year. In the 2020s, the average slugging percentage on pulled flyballs from left-handed batters is 1.771 in Nationals Park, but 1.833 in PNC Park. Abrams could definitely benefit from a move outside of Nationals park, based on his splits.
Over the last two seasons, Abrams has an underwhelming .227/.285/.348 triple-slash at home. Only 13 of his last 39 home runs have come at Nationals Park, and his ISO comes in at .121. However, when Abrams is playing as a visitor, his numbers get dramatically better. The infielder hits .274/.343/.516 as a guest. His ISO rises by over 100 percentage points to .238. The difference in OPS is like going from Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Bobby Witt Jr. in 2025.
Moving Abrams off of shortstop would also likely do him a lot of good. His range at shortstop is below average, to say the least. Since becoming a full-time regular in 2023, Abrams has -37 outs above average. No other shortstop is particularly close either. The next closest is Seattle Mariners middle infielder J.P. Crawford, who only has -19 OAA at shortstop since 2023. It is the least amount of OAA of any player as well, with the next closest being Nick Castellanos in right field at -25.
His lack of range would be a lot more hidden at third base. The only thing is, Abrams has never played a game at third base since becoming a professional ball player. But a move off of shortstop seems inevitable for Abrams. He already has the third least OAA at shortstop since the stat was created, only outpaced by Didi Gregorious and Amed Rosario.
Abrams is also under control through the 2028 season, giving the Pirates three more full seasons of control. Between Abrams’ batted ball tendencies, home and away splits, and his range playing better at third base instead of an up-the-middle position, Abrams would be a much better fit than some may give him credit for. It would be an outside-the-box idea, but one that just might work.
