WASHINGTON — The trade deadline is less than a week away, and the Washington Nationals are expected to make more moves after trading infielder Curtis Mead for lefty Connelley Early over the weekend. As such, I wanted to field your fake offers, many of which, candidly, were impressive.The Nationals are still figuring out what they’ll do. A 8-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night brought them to 55-53, one game back of a wild-card spot. Here’s a mix of buy and sell options, and one of my own thrown in at the end. Let’s get to it.IF Luis García Jr. and C Caleb Lomavita (Double A) to the Boston Red Sox for RHP Kyson Witherspoon (High A) and LHP Eduardo Rivera (Triple A) — Ty D.This is a great one to start off with, and I think it is even! If I’m the Nats, sign me up for Witherspoon and his upside. He was No. 62 in Keith Law’s preseason Top 100, and though he has struggled this season, it is far too early to give up on him.The Red Sox could use the bat and catching depth, and Boston has pitching depth to trade away, so this tracks. One thing to watch is that rental or rental-ish bats don’t always net much. Eugenio Suarez — who had a higher OPS than García, though he was on an expiring deal — only netted Seattle’s No. 9, 16 and 17 prospects last year, for instance, using Pipeline’s rankings.The news of Mead suffering a broken wrist gives Boston more need to add. García could play second base or DH for Boston. The Nationals should be ecstatic about if they got someone with Witherspoon’s upside, plus some more depth in Rivera. Plus, Boston shouldn’t be scared to trade from its High A affiliate.If one side says no, it would probably be Boston. But this framework is excellent.SS CJ Abrams to the Red Sox for IF Franklin Airas (Triple A), RHP Anthony Eyanson (Double A), RHP Kyson Witherspoon (High A), outfielder Justin Gonzalez (High A) — Justin H. I’m 99 percent sure that “Justin H.” is not Justin Horowitz, Nationals’ assistant GM in charge of acquisitions. If that is you, Horowitz, very stealthy. Anyway, the Red Sox say no, but the Nats should open negotiations with a ludicrous offer like this.Washington does not have to trade Abrams this deadline, though there are a few reasons it would behoove them to, including more control, the unlikely possibility of a contract extension and the significant market for shortstop help. They will hold an absurdly high bar, if they even decide to listen seriously to offers. This deal, though, would feature Law’s No. 4 and No. 47 prospects in MLB, plus two other Red Sox top prospects. Is Boston that desperate?Juan Soto netted San Diego’s No. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 19 ranked prospects (via Pipeline) in 2022. Abrams won’t have the same value, but his value is sky-high at the moment. Boston probably doesn’t want to gut its system like this.MLB Mailbag: Trade deadline lightning roundAndy McCulloughIF Ronny Cruz (High A), OF Gavin Fien (A) and RHP Miguel Sime Jr. (High A) to the Los Angeles Angels for RHP Jose Soriano — Matt D.The Nationals say no. Washington is absolutely thinking about avenues to acquiring a controllable starting pitcher — basically every team is — but I get the sense that the front office would rather wait to acquire someone of this caliber if the return is these guys.
Who says no to a CJ Abrams to Red Sox trade? Your best Nationals deadline ideas
Teams have less than a week to pull off any trades. Our readers shared plenty of ideas














