The Washington Nationals have been a very busy club this offseason so far. Despite not really being a newsworthy club over the last half-decade since winning the World Series in 2019, the club has somehow found a way to maintain relevance heading into this offseason.
Now, relevance in this context is subjective, as from an on-field standpoint, the franchise has been basically anything but, however off the field they have been one of the more interesting stories in baseball. That is mostly due to the overall youth of the organization when it comes to the coaching staff, led by the youngest skipper in the big leagues in Blake Butera, but also because of some potential player movement the club might explore.
After being one of the bigger names that could have potentially been had back in August at the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, it appears that the Nationals might be moving closer to dealing one of their most prized assets. According to Darragh McDonald of MLBTradeRumors, the franchise, the new man at the helm of the Nationals, Paul Toboni, "has discussed Gore with multiple unnamed clubs but has a high asking price." which is a similar sentiment to what we heard at the trade deadline as well.
As we as a site have pointed out at length, specifically back at the trade deadline, the case for trading Gore is a very simple one to comprehend. He is a Scott Boras client, who is notorious for not having his players sign extensions before going to free agency, and the Nationals don't seem close to competing with him before he hits free agency after the 2027 season.
Gore has always shown pretty elite upside whenever he is at the top of his game, but him finding that groove was not enough to last throughout the entirety of a whole season under the previous coaching staff, who of course had outdated practices and methods. Perhaps Toboni believes that Gore can boost his value by having a great first half, but there's also a ton of risk with that as well.
If Gore were to get injured or pitch poorly in the beginning of the season, his value would effectively be shot, leaving the Nationals without an opportunity to cash in on their best trade chip. However, the fact that Toboni is at least having discussions makes me believe that the club will eventually deal him, whether it be before the season or before the trade deadline. Time will tell which way the Nationals choose to go, but keep an eye on the Winter Meetings for some further whispers to come out.
Do you think MacKenzie Gore will be traded? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.