When the Washington Nationals acquired MacKenzie Gore in the historic Juan Soto trade three years ago, they hoped he would develop into the kind of frontline starting pitcher they relied on throughout their run of dominance. Think of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, or even vintage Gio Gonzalez and Patrick Corbin. The best Nats teams had a Cy Young candidate at the top of the rotation, and they thought they’d found their new ace in Gore. As the former third overall draft pick, he certainly had the prospect pedigree.
Gore’s first two seasons with the Nationals were productive, but the Nats knew he could develop into something more. This year, he has enjoyed a breakout season and fully looks the part of an ace. Gore’s season began by striking out 13 Phillies over six one-hit innings on Opening Day, and he has not looked back since. He has spent all season in the top three among the National League strikeout leaders and earned his first All-Star nomination.
Gore’s breakthrough has unfortunately not led to better positioning in the standings for the Nats but has instead led to trade rumors. Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Josh Bell, and Amed Rosario are all logical trade candidates after signing one-year contracts prior to this season. But Gore? Why would you trade your budding ace with two and a half seasons remaining on his contract?
For starters, the Nats are unlikely to return to World Series contention over the next two and a half seasons. This year, which has already seen longtime franchise leaders Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez fired, is all about giving young players a chance to develop and seeing what you have. Next season will likely be more of the same. Perhaps if the Nats’ young core all make great strides, the team can push for a wild card spot in 2026. 2027 is likely the beginning of the Nats’ next championship window, coinciding with Gore’s final year under contract. Consider that he is represented by Scott Boras, and you can almost guarantee he will be hitting free agency at the conclusion of his contract.
Is it worth holding on to Gore in hopes of making the postseason one time prior to his free agency? If the Nats had a deeper farm system, then you could make the argument. While the farm system is much improved, including young major league stars such as James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Dylan Crews, it is still very top-heavy. After Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana, and Brady House, the system has a fairly steep descent. The Nats have plenty of prospects who project to become quality major leaguers, but they are lacking the star power and depth you would expect at this point in the rebuild.
An encouraging draft last week that included the top overall selection certainly added depth to the system, but the Nats still need more if they want to go on another decade-long run of competing for a World Series. Trading the aforementioned veterans on expiring contracts will help provide depth, but the star power will still be lacking. As the Nats showed us in 2022, the best way to acquire star prospects outside of the draft is by trading star players. Enter MacKenzie Gore.
Pitching is always heavily sought-after at the trade deadline, and teams will part with quality prospects for a frontline starter on an expiring contract. A frontline starter with three pennant races of team control being made available is almost unheard of.
Garrett Crochet was traded over the offseason with two years of team control remaining, and the Red Sox parted with four of their top prospects, including two in the top 100. Any team interested in acquiring Gore would control him for an additional pennant race over Crochet’s contract at the time of the trade, which is significant. Teams also tend to be extra aggressive at the trade deadline, looking to add the missing piece or replace an injured star. The Nats absolutely have to receive multiple top 100 prospects to even entertain dealing Gore.
Another factor to consider is that the Nats currently have an interim GM leading the organization. After 14 years with the Nationals, Mike DeBartolo was finally given the keys, at least for now. Could trading Gore for a prospect haul help him take over on a permanent basis? Potentially. It’s worth noting that DeBartolo has been given credit for laying the groundwork and advocating for the Soto trade. Perhaps DeBartolo has another trade deadline blockbuster in the works, benefitting the team and his job prospects. On the other hand, maybe the Lerners told DeBartolo they’re not comfortable with him making a deal of that magnitude as an interim GM.
This season’s trade deadline is the best opportunity the Nats have to cash in on Gore. If they wait until the offseason or next trade deadline, Gore’s new team would only control him for two pennant races. That could be the difference between a good and great prospect haul. Just as importantly, Gore is healthy right now. The Nats have experienced their fair share of pitcher injuries, following a troubling trend around baseball. Gore, in particular, has a history of being injury-prone. If he were to suffer an injury, especially one to his arm, that could significantly diminish his trade value. Now is the time to strike.
In an ideal world, the Nats would trade Gore at the deadline to stock the farm system and replace him this winter with a premier starting pitcher in free agency. Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Framber Valdez are among the best pitchers set to become free agents this winter and would each serve as an outstanding Gore replacement. Of course, the $14 million they gave Trevor Williams this winter was the biggest contract the Nats have signed a free agent for since paying Nelson Cruz $15 million in 2022. It will take much more to bring someone like Cease to DC, and it remains to be seen if the Lerners are willing to spend again.
Without spending on pitching, the Nats will have to make savvy trades and hope for development and health from players like Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Cade Cavalli, and Jake Irvin.
As the Nats have experienced, you need more than three or four players to become a winning ballclub. Wood, Abrams, and Crews form an exciting core, but they can’t win games by themselves. The current state of the farm system doesn’t instill much confidence that significant help is on the way. Trading MacKenzie Gore would change that.