Ahead of the Washington Nationals' series finale against the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon, one thing seems certain: nobody in the world has a clue if MacKenzie Gore will still be a Washington National when the dust settles on Thursday afternoon.
That would be because of the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, which has caused quite the stir among teams around the league. While the prevailing thought has been that Gore, a first-time All-Star in 2025, would not be available, the whispers concerning a potential trade of him have now begun to subside. In fact, they have only begun to grow stronger as we move closer to the deadline.
Obviously, Gore is the type of pitcher you want to build around, no doubt about it. He is still just 26-years-old, and has 2.5 years remaining on his deal. Why trade him? His value now will never be higher, and a team that would be giving up significant assets would want to maximize their usage out of a big ticket item like Gore. A team acquiring him now versus waiting until the offseason would be able to have him for 3 potential postseason runs, which the Nationals are hoping makes a team get desperate over the next couple days.
Throw in the fact that Gore is a client of Scott Boras, who has become the boogeyman to Nationals fans, and you can start to see that Gore will not be signing an extension before hitting free agency. For a guy who is going to be a free agent after the 2027 season, is re-signing with a club that likely won't be competitive until 2028 a reasonable expectation? Certainly not, especially when you consider the fact that the team as constructed right now is not anywhere close to competing.
Clearly, interim GM Mike DeBartolo, who hasn't even been in the position for a full month and has already had some incredibly tough decisions to make, is on the same wavelength. In fact, an interesting quote from MLB Insider Jim Bowden painted the picture in recent work for The Athletic pretty clearly, "Nationals interim GM Mike DeBartolo may decide to stand pat. But if he's able to trade Gore for a significant prospect haul, he would make a huge statement that could help him keep the job beyond this year."
There is a lot to unpack from Bowden's words, as my prevailing thought basically throughout the entire process of the Gore rumors is that ownership would not allow someone with an interim title to make a decision like this. However, if DeBartolo does end up getting the green light, it could be a sign that ownership is happy with the changes he is making, and could extend him the full-time job.
Acquiring a package from a team like the Cubs that includes multiple top prospects could drastically alter the state of the team's farm system, which has begun to lack a bit of momentum overall following the horrible news on top prospect Travis Sykora. Being able to reload with elite talents from other organizations, including a guy or two who could contribute to a big league team soon, could help DeBartolo's case that he is worthy of being the GM for the Nationals.
Of course, this could all be for naught, and Gore could be a National for much longer than we expect. My gut has gone back and forth every day since the rumors began to swirl, but as of right now, I don't see a trade happening. If Gore goes out and shoves today against the Astros, I wouldn't be surprised if a team that had scouts at the game to watch him pitch ends up making DeBartolo an offer he simply can't refuse.
Do you think Mike DeBartolo and the Nationals will trade MacKenzie Gore? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.