Rangers acquire Gore from Nationals for 5 prospects
The Washington Nationals traded starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers for five prospects, the team announced Thursday.
The Nationals receive shortstop Gavin Fien, right-hander Alejandro Rosario, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald, and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera.
"If you asked me a week ago, was this going to happen? I probably would have said no," Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said Thursday, according to The Washington Post's Andrew Golden. "But over the course of the last week, just momentum built and finally got to a spot where it made sense for us."
Gore posted a 4.17 ERA with 3.74 FIP and 185 strikeouts over 159 2/3 innings last year en route to earning his first All-Star selection. The southpaw, who turns 27 in February, has two years of club control left.
"We were going to hold a really high bar because we think the world of MacKenzie as a player," Toboni added, according to MASN's Bobby Blanco. "And if a team met it or exceeded it, great. But we were comfortable holding him. ... The market started to move a little bit this past week."
Gore provides first-year Rangers manager Skip Schumaker with rotation depth behind ace Jacob deGrom and veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.
Rangers' 2026 projected rotation
| PITCHER | THROWS |
|---|---|
| Jacob deGrom | Right |
| Nathan Eovaldi | Right |
| MacKenzie Gore | Left |
| Jack Leiter | Right |
| Jacob Latz | Left |
Gore also reportedly attracted trade interest from the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals this winter.
Fien and Rosario are the two biggest names joining the Nationals. Fien was the Rangers' No. 2 prospect behind Sebastian Walcott, according to MLB Pipeline. Rosario was Texas' sixth-ranked prospect and the team's No. 4 pitcher.
Fitz-Gerald (12th), Cabrera (16th), and Ortiz (18th) were all ranked among the Rangers' top 30 prospects as well.