Rangers get MacKenzie Gore in 5-for-1 trade with Nationals
The Texas Rangers acquired All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore in a five-for-one trade with the Washington Nationals on Thursday.
In exchange for Gore, who turns 27 in February, the Nationals received a handful of prospects from the Rangers, including 18-year-old third baseman Gavin Fien, who was the 12th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft.
Gore, who has two years of team control remaining, will earn about $4.7 million in 2026 and could help the front of the Rangers’ rotation. After an All-Star first half for the Nationals in 2025, he slumped to a 6.75 ERA in the second half and finished the season at 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 159⅔ innings in 30 starts.
“We’re at a point right now where we have a team that we believe can win and win a championship,” Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker said. “And when you add a player of MacKenzie Gore’s status, it’s not that you look past what you’re giving up, but you’re excited about what you bring and what that does in the clubhouse, what that does for our fan base, what that does for the enthusiasm around the club.”
Gore was the No. 3 pick in the 2017 draft, but didn’t find success in the big leagues until 2024. Gore has been solid over the past two years, ranking 23rd in pitchers’ WAR over that span, but hasn’t quite made the jump to first-line starter that some envisioned years ago.
Gore throws at least 80% fastball/curveball to lefties and at least 80% fastball/curveball to righties, so developing a viable fourth pitch shape could be key.
Overall, he is 26-41 with a 4.19 ERA in four seasons.
“Our goal is to help him have a full season,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “But we anticipate, knowing the person, the competitor, the desire to be great, he meets all the criteria of a good starting pitcher and we’re excited to help him.”
In addition to Fien, the Nationals will receive right-hander Alejandro Rosario, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera as part of the deal.
“We see some high-end talent with this return, but we also see some intriguing depth,” Washington president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said. “We saw untapped potential with MacKenzie, so we built it into the level of performance we wanted.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
