Despite their obvious offensive troubles, the Boston Red Sox have largely remained optimistic about their chances to make the playoffs. Only in the middle of June did team president and CEO Sam Kennedy indicate that the Sox could pivot to selling if they can't escape their struggles.
As of June 19, the Red Sox are 6.5 games back of a Wild Card spot, meaning they're still in the playoff picture, despite the seemingly slim chances of their offense changing. They could still make a trade ahead of the deadline to inch further into contention.
Boston's outfield is still jam packed, so it would need to find an infield bat to improve its offense, barring an outfield trade. The Sox could look to Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams, who, according to Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report, could be one of the most surprising players moved at the upcoming trade deadline.
The Red Sox could have an easier time landing him than most other teams. The Nats hired former Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni as their president of baseball operations. Not only is Toboni well-acquainted with Boston's farm system from his 10 years in the organization, he also didn't trade for Abrams as his predecessor did, so he could be more willing to part with him.
Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams could be a worthy trade deadline target for Red Sox if they plan to buy
Abrams is in the throes of the best offensive year of his career with a .284/.369/.506 slash line with 14 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs over 73 games (as of June 19). He's on the best home run pace of his career, as well — he hit 20 home runs over 138 games in 2024 and looks primed to pass that number easily this year. Abrams' slugging percentage would be the second-highest on the Red Sox, between Willson Contreras (.567) and Ceddanne Rafaela (.452). Unfortunately, he's left-handed, and the Red Sox are most likely targeting righties, but their offense has been so poor they could be open to other options.
Despite the offensive fit, Abrams doesn't work for Boston's new defense-forward plans. His nine outs below average are the worst for any shortstop in the league and his -5 defensive runs saved is the second-worst in his position group behind only JP Crawford of the Seattle Mariners.
But Boston's defense has been cleaned up so much that one poor defender in the infield won't matter too much, especially if the Red Sox move him to second base and keep Marcelo Mayer at shortstop. Abrams could be a great supplement to the Sox's offense, if they're not insistent on trading for righties.
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