With their options thinning out and just two weeks remaining before players report to spring training, the San Francisco Giants recently turned up the aggression to get something done on the trade market. According to major-league sources, they signaled their openness to include highly regarded teenage shortstop prospect Josuar Gonzalez in a package for Washington Nationals infielder CJ Abrams.
The result was another stalled trade pursuit. And perhaps, if ownership permits, a pivot back to free agency.
The Giants and Nationals were unable to agree on a fair return for Abrams, a 25-year-old shortstop who was an All-Star in 2024 and posted a 111 OPS+ last season while hitting 19 home runs and stealing 31 bases. Abrams, who would have supplanted Casey Schmitt as the Giants’ everyday second baseman, will make $4.2 million this season and comes with three years of club control before reaching free agency.
The rebuilding Nationals netted five prospects on Thursday when they traded left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers, and it’s believed they are looking for an even more compelling return that would convince them to move Abrams. According to league sources, left-handers Carson Whisenhunt and Jacob Bresnahan were among the prospects the Giants and Nationals discussed. So were outfielder Bo Davidson and shortstop Jhonny Level, both of whom cracked Baseball America’s most recent top-100 prospects list (Nos. 87 and 98, respectively) that was released earlier this week. Even if the Giants offered all five players for Abrams, it’s unclear whether the Nationals would have accepted.
Whether it’s been discussions with the Nationals over Abrams or the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Brendan Donovan or talks at the Winter Meetings with the Miami Marlins for right-hander Edward Cabrera (who was dealt to the Cubs on Jan. 7 for three prospects, including top outfield prospect Owen Caissie), it appears the industry hasn’t valued the Giants’ top minor-league talent at a level commensurate with the organization’s internal evaluations.
It’s resulted in a frustrating and underwhelming offseason. The Giants are likely finished addressing the rotation after signing free-agent pitchers Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle. However, they’ve made no significant upgrades to a position player core beyond the Rule 5 draft trade they swung to acquire former A’s catching prospect Daniel Susac. Their outfield situation is no better than it was in October; even waiver pickups Joey Wiemer and Justin Dean, both strong defenders, landed with other clubs after the Giants designated both players for assignment. Right field remains a jumble of unproven candidates: Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and Jerar Encarnacion. The Giants haven’t replaced Dom Smith or Wilmer Flores, which will leave them especially light at designated hitter if the team determines that top prospect Bryce Eldridge needs more seasoning at Triple A to begin the season.
Acquiring Abrams would have done more than provide a dynamic and athletic presence at the top of the order and on the basepaths. It would have allowed the Giants to raise the roster floor and use Schmitt in a super-utility role that could have included some starts at first base against left-handed pitching.
Instead, it’s back to the drawing board — and perhaps to the few free-agent fits that remain unsigned.
League sources indicated that the Giants are poised to engage on center fielder Harrison Bader, a strong defender who hit 17 home runs with a 111 OPS+ last season and served as a difference maker after the Philadelphia Phillies acquired him from the Minnesota Twins in July. Bader, 31, hit .305/.361/.463 while scoring 30 runs in 50 games for the Phillies. There’s plenty of interest in Bader, but he’s said to be looking for a three-year contract. Although the Giants have no desire to stack another multiyear contract on top of their long-term commitments to Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames, they also recognize there’s no sense in making such a large investment in those core players — and accepting the devil’s bargain of their declining years — if they don’t adequately support them during their prime seasons.
The Giants might even kick around the idea of signing Luis Arraez, a 28-year-old contact-hitting savant who is a defensive liability and hasn’t played second base full-time since 2023. Given his positional limitations and lack of power, it’s unclear what other opportunities exist for Arraez, a three-time batting champion and .317 lifetime hitter who led the National League with 181 hits last season for the San Diego Padres.
The Giants have several highly regarded infielders in their minor-league system, including Gonzalez, an athletic switch hitter who dominated the Dominican League in his pro debut season and moved up to No. 30 on Baseball America’s top-100 list. But Gonzalez just turned 18 in October, and even if the Giants fast-track his development, he’s at least two years away from impacting the major-league roster.
By most measures, the Giants’ system is the strongest it’s been in years. They have four players on Baseball America’s preseason top 100 for the first time since 2010, when current president of baseball operations Buster Posey was the seventh-ranked player and left-hander (and future World Series MVP) Madison Bumgarner was No. 11. Future ace Zack Wheeler and outfielder Thomas Neal also made the list that year.
Among their current quartet, Eldridge (ranked 18th) stands literally head and shoulders above the others. The Giants have resisted all trade overtures for the slugging, 6-foot-7 first baseman, whom Posey has lauded as a player who “has a chance to be one of the biggest impact bats for the next 10 to 15 years in the big leagues, potentially.” Even if the Giants remain committed to keeping Eldridge, the thinking within the organization is that they should have enough depth in the system to complete deals.
In addition to their four players on Baseball America’s top 100, the magazine reported that four other Giants prospects received votes among their staff: Bresnahan, right-hander Keyner Martinez, shortstop Gavin Kilen and outfielder Dakota Jordan. And the Giants just signed the top-ranked international free agent, handing a $5 million bonus to Venezuelan shortstop Luis Hernandez. Parks Harber, an undrafted infielder whom the Giants picked up last July in the trade that sent former All-Star closer Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees, tore up the Arizona Fall League and has generated some trade interest as well.
But with the possible exception of Harber, the Giants do not expect to graduate any of those prospects this season. And apparently, justified or not, they are only providing so much value in trade discussions.
So with time running out, the search to improve the roster continues. No matter how bright the future might be for the Giants, the present day remains a bit unsettling.