The Washington Nationals are entering a new era. Which means trading away some of the top players of the old era.
In their first big move under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, the Nationals are trading All-Star starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports. In return, they are acquiring five prospects, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Advertisement
Gore brings a talented arm to his new team, with a five-pitch mix featuring a mid-90s fastball and a standout curveball. However, he has frequently struggled to keep the ball in the zone, with a walk rate that would have ranked sixth-worst among qualified MLB pitchers.
The deal is a significant one for the Nationals given their recent history. Alongside fellow All-Stars James Wood and C.J. Abrams, Gore was one of the central components of Washington’s return in the Juan Soto trade, which signaled the franchise’s previous window of contending was fully closed.
A down-to-the-studs rebuild ensued, with Gore intended to be one of the top starters in the Nationals’ next playoff team. Control issues have prevented him from becoming anything resembling a real ace in his first four MLB seasons, but his stuff has been good enough to post at least 180 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons. He got his first career All-Star nod in 2025.
Advertisement
However, the Nationals have failed to progress into even a league-average team. Due to a completely broken player development pipeline, the franchise still has yet to win more than 71 games since its World Series title in 2019. That dysfunction saw general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez both fired during the 2025 season, with Toboni later taking over the front office and hiring 33-year-old Blake Butera as manager.
Trading away Gore essentially means the Nationals’ post-Soto rebuild has failed, if firing their GM wasn’t already evidence enough.
You don’t trade away pitchers like Gore if you think you’re anywhere close to the playoffs, which the Nationals clearly aren’t. Some young talent has turned into real MLB players, like the Soto trade trio of Gore, Wood and Abrams, but many others — perhaps most notably 2023 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Crews — just aren’t there yet. That reflects a structural issue Washington is trying to fix under new management, but that is a long-term process.
So the team dealt Gore away for players who will, hopefully, help them down the line under Toboni and Butera.
