What the Nationals and Red Sox’ bizarre trade means for a potential Brewers-CJ Abrams blockbuster

Over the weekend, baseball got its first true midseason blockbuster of the year, as the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals swapped former top prospects Connelly Early and Curtis Mead. It's a peculiar one-for-one deal involving major-league-only talent between two contending teams, but it does also open the market for similar deals across the league.

More specifically, this might be the door-opener the Milwaukee Brewers have been waiting for in regard to CJ Abrams. We know the Crew have shown frequent interest in the All-Star shortstop, who is in the midst of his finest season at the plate (27 homers, 17 steals, 153 wRC+). We also know that, as a 25-year-old with 2.5 years of team control remaining, he's going to cost a fortune in a trade.

The Brewers usually don't go for those kinds of players, but with a clear path to another first-round bye and a core clearly ready to topple the Los Angeles Dodgers right now, they plan to be more aggressive than usual this year. Acquiring Abrams wouldn't certainly put them on more even footing with the two-time reigning champs.

Brewers can meet Nationals' demands for CJ Abrams, whether it requires pitching or hitting prospects

There are a lot of moving parts to make a deal of this magnitude happen, but let's start by focusing on that Red Sox trade. Abrams is a better player than Mead is, though the latter has two more years of team control remaining. It's also worth pointing out that for as talented as Early is, he's currently dealing with a concerning bout of elbow inflammation. This was a unique buy-low opportunity for the Nationals thanks to the injury and the Red Sox's chasmic difference between pitching and hitting talent.

Beyond his closer proximity to free agency, something else working against Abrams' price on the trade market is his porous defense; he's at -11 Outs Above Average this year and -57 for his career at short. The Brewers also have Jesús Made and Cooper Pratt set to take over the left side of the infield in the near future (not to mention Brice Turang entrenched at second base), meaning they'd likely be acquiring Abrams with an eye on shifting him to first base or a corner outfield spot in future seasons.

Those are significantly less valuable positions than shortstop, so that may cause a rift in his perceived value between the Brewers and Nationals. Additionally, as mentioned, the Nats, who are just one game out of a Wild Card spot, aren't true sellers this year.

But, if we can look past all of that, there's a clear fit to be had here. If Early is any proof, controllable pitching is high on the Nationals' wish list; the Brewers can offer a high-upside, MLB-ready arm (Robert Gasser, Brandon Sproat) as a centerpiece, or pair a less-heralded arm (Coleman Crow, Tyson Hardin, Bishop Letson) with a top prospect elsewhere.

Milwaukee is also uniquely positioned to help Washington immediately replace Abrams within their system. The Nationals do already have last year's first overall pick, Eli Willits, coming up through the minors, but he's an 18-year-old in High-A. The Brewers could offer Luis Peña, Jett Williams, and/or Andrew Fischer as someone who could play alongside Willits in the big leagues down the road.

Don't expect this to be a one-for-one affair in any case; Abrams is a true superstar who will command an enormous haul. A package including multiple current or former top-100 prospects feels like the starting point to get a discussion off the ground. But it's clear the Brewers can meet the Nationals' demands, even without touching the burgeoning young stars they'd hope to line up next to Abrams.

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