Shortly after I wrote about the potential of a CJ Abrams trade, a report came out that the Giants seriously pursued the Nats shortstop, but were unable to reach a deal. The fact that this leaked out right after the Gore trade is very interesting and makes me wonder about the timing. It also makes me wonder about whether the Nats will make a late offseason deal.
San Francisco, CA
The Washington Nationals turn back San Francisco Giants pursuit of CJ Abrams
The report came from Andrew Baggarly, the Giants beat reporter for the Athletic. This makes me think the leak came from the Giants side. It is clearly a strategic leak and has me wondering if this deal is dead yet. The piece reads like the Giants are telling their fanbase that we tried, but the Nats asking price was just too much.
The thing that stood out the most to me was the reporting that the Giants were willing to offer Josuar Gonzalez. Despite being 18 and never having appeared in a stateside game, Gonzalez is a top 50 prospect in baseball. In their new top 100, MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 44th best prospect, while Baseball America had him at number 30.
Gonzalez was the top player in his IFA class, and had a strong showing in the DSL. He is a potential five tool player, who stands out for his elite defensive ability at shortstop. However, the bat is also very advanced. Pipeline said he has the ceiling of a .280 hitter with 25+ homer pop. If that is the case, he could be the closest thing we have seen to Francisco Lindor.
The biggest drawback to Gonzalez is obviously his age and lack of experience. He has never played above the DSL level, so there is some serious volatility. However, he has a truly massive ceiling. The fact the Giants were open to offering Gonzalez in a deal, and Toboni turned it down says a lot.
The report also stated that prospects Bo Davidson, Jhonny Level, Carson Whisenhunt and Jacob Bresnahan were discussed. These are all prospects with big upside. Davidson and Level are top 100 guys according to Baseball America. This report fired up Giants fans, who seemed stunned at these names all being discussed.
There is one line that intrigued me though. The report said that even if the Giants offered all five players, it would be unclear if the Nats would have accepted. That feels like spin to me. If Toboni was offered all five, he would be a fool to turn it down.
While the report mentioned plenty of names that were being discussed, there was no leaked offer. If Gonzalez was in the deal, I would imagine the secondary pieces were not very strong. The fact there is no actual deal leaked tells me the Giants are trying to make the price sound higher than it actually was.
However, I do have no doubt that Toboni was asking for a lot. There is less incentive to move Abrams now than there was with Gore. Abrams has three years of team control compared to Gore’s two and is also not represented by infamous super agent Scott Boras.
Toboni also seems excited to get his hands on Abrams from a development standpoint. On 106.7, he talked about how Abrams is one of the most athletic players in the league, but has not fully been able to translate that athleticism to production. While Abrams has been a quality player the last few years, Toboni sees more upside.
That upside could lead to Abrams being a long term piece, or it could lead to enhanced trade value. If Abrams has a hot start to the season, he would be a very hot commodity at the Trade Deadline. Another thing Abrams could do to boost his stock is prove that he is a true shortstop. I think Toboni was mostly referring to Abrams’ defense when he was talking about his athleticism not translating into production.
The Nats shortstop has all of the twitch and movement skills to be a quality shortstop, but has not put it together yet. Toboni seems like he is on a mission to change that. Right now, most teams looking to trade for Abrams see him as more of a second baseman. The Giants certainly see it that way, with Willy Adames firmly entrenched at shortstop.
All of this leads me to believe a deal is more likely to happen at the deadline, but this leak raised my eyebrows. This could be interpreted as the Giants saying we are done with this or a challenge to Toboni to come back to the table. Either way, the Giants let this get out for a reason.
Over the next few months, I have a feeling that we will be talking about CJ Abrams trade rumors some more. He is a very exciting player, but given the Nats timeline and their glut of young infield talent, a trade seems like a possibility.
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Bay Area High School baseball fans are treated to a rare opportunity Saturday (April 18) with three games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, including the famed Bruce-Mahoney clash between West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first pitch of the 20th annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic starts at 11 a.m. and pits two more San Francisco private schools as University (9-7), winners of four straight, taking on Riordan (5-11).
That will be followed by the Bruce-Mahoney game at 2:30 between St. Ignatius (12-5, 4-2 WCAL) and the Irish (7-10, 1-5) and finished off with a North Coast Section clash between North Bay’s Marin Catholic (9-7) against Acalanes (7-6-1).
The Benedetti Classic, founded by Dante’s Boys Foundation board member Tom Lounibos and Giants president Larry Baer, benefits the DBF which honors the spirit of Benedetti who for nearly 40 years owned San Francisco’s Mr. Baseball nickname for his kindness and generosity to baseball-playing youth in the area.
Among their philanthropic efforts are glove and baseball equipment drives, field renovations and contributions to scholarships and sponsorships.
After starting the season 0-4 — three of those losses were by one run — University, under head coach Andrew Suvunnachuen, has found its way, winning the last four, all in Bay Counties League play, by a combined 51-6 count over Lick-Wilmerding (16-1 and 11-3) and San Domenico (13-2 and 11-0).
Senior catcher and pitcher Jett Messenger leads the way with a .447 average, while getting on base at a .638 rate. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Tate Gebhart is hitting .419, while Leo Felder and Behbart share the RBI lead with 15 each.
Junior Matthew Foley is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
Riordan, under second-year head coach Craig Sargent, was 5-5 in nonleague games but lost six straight in the rugged WCAL, losing two tough games this week to Mitty (3-2 and 7-4). Junior third baseman and pitcher Santiono Williams leads the team in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.488) and stolen bases (nine). He’s also been the team’s top pitcher at 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
The teams have split two previous games in their history, with Riordan winning 2-0 in 2023 and University prevailing 5-0 in 2021.
St. Ignatius, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Pollzzie, has already secured the Bruce-Mahoney trophy with four straight wins — one each in football, girls volleyball, boys basketball and girls basketball — but this rivalry is always spirited.
The Wildcats, who are ranked fourth in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle, are coming off a tough 3-0 home loss to No. 2 St. Francis on Friday after beating the host Lancers 10-6 on Tuesday.
The team is led by Stanford-bound Archer Horn, who is hitting .486 with four home runs and a .604 on-base percentage. The shortstop and pitcher also has not allowed an earned run in three pitching appearances while registering one save.
Pitching is a team’s strength with a 2.59 ERA, led by a brigade of strong arms including Leo Rhein (2-0, 2.38), Tycco Giometti (2-1, 2.62), Charlie Stecher 1-1, 0.72) and Chase Gordon (1-0, 2.80). The team is missing standout Finn Demuth, out of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, led by fourth-year head coach Gregg Franceschi, has scored 60 runs on the season and given up 61. The Irish are coming off two losses to eighth-ranked Valley Christian (5-2 and 10-1).
They are led offensively by junior outfielder Brody O’Sullivan (.381) and senior infielder Jacob Vines (.378). Johnny Nepomuceno and Max Nylander are other run-producers. Zach Stallworth (37 strikeouts, 29.2 innings) and Cooper Rogers Lewis (0.25 ERA) have been the team’s top pitchers.
The series has been remarkably close since 2005 with Sacred Heart Cathedral holding a 27-20 edge, though St. Ignatius won both games last season (5-0 and 6-3) after the Irish won 9-7 and 1-0 in 2024.
Marin Catholic hopes to get back to winning after starting the season 9-1, but have since lost six straight, four in Marin County Athletic League play, including 4-2 to Novato on Thursday. Senior outfield Luke Martin is the team’s leading hitter at .478 while senior infielder and pitcher Cooper Mitchell is at .455. Senior infielder Walker Untermann leads the team with 15 RBIs.
Acalanes is at the other end of the spectrum, winners of five of six after a 2-5-1 start. Junior infielder Tyler Winkles, also a highly recruited quarterback in football, leads the team with a .383 average and nine stolen bases. Riley Gates (2-3, 2.49 ERA, 30 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher.
The teams have played three times, all since 2022, with Marin Catholic owning a 2-1 lead. Acalanes won last year’s game 8-7.
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Chinatown fatal crash victim ID’d, safety measures proposed
The victim killed in Friday’s Chinatown crash was identified Monday by the medical examiner as Cutberto Zamora-Martinez, 49, of San Joaquin County. At a meeting on Monday, city officials said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
SAN FRANCISCO – A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and speeding following a crash in San Francisco’s Chinatown that killed a man working in the area.
Zhuo Ming Lu, 76, is accused in the March 27 crash that left 49-year-old Cutberto Zamora-Martinez, of San Joaquin County, dead.
Suspect was trying to park
What we know:
Authorities said Lu was attempting to park near Grant Avenue and Jackson Street when his vehicle jumped the sidewalk and crashed into the landmark New Lung Ting Café, also known as the Pork Chop House. The vehicle also struck two pedestrians, including Zamora-Martinez.
Zamora-Martinez died from his injuries.
He had been working in the area, according to a GoFundMe page. A San Francisco Police Department source close to the investigation told KTVU the victims were carpet installers arriving for work.
The fundraising page described Zamora-Martinez as a husband and father who was the sole provider for his family and “a humble man who wanted the best for his family.”
Before his arrest, Lu had been cooperating with investigators. Authorities have not confirmed what caused the crash.
Some residents questioned whether the driver’s age or a possible confusion between the brake and gas pedals may have been factors.
“Maybe if people hit a certain age, you got to get retested for your driver’s license is something I was thinking about,” said Keith Hong, who works next door to the crash site.
Another case involving an elderly driver
Big picture view:
In an unrelated case, Mary Fong Lau, 80, was sentenced to probation after killing a family of four, two parents and their young children. in March 2024. Authorities said Lau struck the victims as they waited at a Muni stop on their way to the zoo.
Lau pleaded no contest to four felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, and a judge accepted the plea. A Superior Court judge cited her age, remorse and lack of criminal history in the sentencing decision.
She was placed on probation for two years, banned from driving for three years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
The Source: San Francisco Police Department, prior reporting
San Francisco first came to know chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz through their pop-up Istanbul Modern, and later through their breakthrough Presidio restaurant Dalida. The duo’s success is grounded in their take on Eastern Mediterranean food, which they made a conscious decision to champion 10 years ago.
Fast-forward to 2026, and now Laura is taking on a personal project of her own, with Sayat by her side, placing foods from Mexico’s Guerrero and Sinaloa center stage at Maria Isabel. It’s a refreshing menu that combines both Mexican and local ingredients, through the lens of the Ozyilmazes cooking backgrounds.
Reservations are released on OpenTable 30 days in advance, but Laura confirmed that they do take walk-ins depending on space. Smaller parties or solo diners might have better luck sliding in, thanks to the counter in the brighter, “Maria” portion of the restaurant.
The cocktails from consulting bar director Evan Williams are always worth a glimpse, whether at Dalida or at Maria Isabel. They’re well-balanced and have incredible depth and technique behind them. That being said, the team sourced wines from woman-led wine brands such as LOTIS Wines and Amevive Wine, if you’re looking to explore past the usual selections you’ll see elsewhere.
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