It is clear that since 2020, the Washington Nationals have had their struggles. They have moved on from every key player they had in their organization. Their core players helped them win the World Series in 2019, but ever since, it has been downhill. The Nationals have gotten some great returns in trades for their big-name players--particularly in the Juan Soto trade to the San Diego Padres. Both players I will be discussing in this article came from that deal.
Trade: MacKenzie Gore
MacKenzie Gore is a great strikeout pitcher, but he does have his faults, including throwing too many wild pitches and having an ERA above 4.00. His win-loss record in 2025 was not good at all, but that was primarily due to the lack of run support he got. He was 5-15 in 30 starts, with a 4.17 ERA, and a respectable 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings. However, he did allow well over one hit or walk every inning, as shown by his 1.35 WHIP.
The Nationals need more help as soon as possible in many areas, from pitching to hitting, where to go with trading Gore is hard to see, but there are many options. A return for Gore also depends on what the Nationals do in Free Agency. If the Nationals get a bat, like Alex Bregman, maybe a bullpen arm in return for Gore would be good. It is hard to know, but the Nationals can go in many directions with trading Gore, especially early in the offseason
Starting pitchers are always a hot commodity on the trade and free agency market, and there is definitely a team out there that wants Gore, and believes they can fix him, to keep the strikeout numbers high, and give him more run support, while also preventing runs from scoring on him, while also offering a nice return in trade value.,
James Wood
He may seem like an obvious pick, but the Nationals must keep James Wood, as long as he is under contract with the team. Wood is the face of the franchise right now and is a cornerstone player to help in the Nationals' rebuild.
As someone who follows minor leaguers because of baseball card collecting, I was so excited to see James Wood come over in the Juan Soto trade. I knew he was going to be a cornerstone player for many years to come, and he has not disappointed yet. In 2025 alone, he hit 31 long balls, drove in 94 runs, and had an OPS+ of 132, 32 points higher that league average. That is incredible.
Wood is a player with power for long balls, and with a skillful ability to drive in runs. For a team like the Nationals to have him, is a luxury not many teams have in young players. The Nationals in the coming years will be built around James, and hopefully will lead to much success in the coming years with a rebuild to get back to the success of 2019.