Will the Washington Nationals move on from pitcher MacKenzie Gore? MLB.com evaluates the move, along with both the pros and cons of a potential trade
The Washington Nationals became one of the most discussed teams during Winter Meetings last week with left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore and shortstop CJ Abrams among the biggest potential trade targets with teams circling and reports nearly every day of new interest.
Both Gore and Abrams were listed by ESPN among 15 possible trade candidates this offseason before a report from ESPN's Buster Olney noted that Gore "will definitely be among those moved in the days ahead." Abrams then materialized into what was reported to be an aggressive trade target by teams before president of baseball operations Paul Toboni pushed back on growing speculation
“I think it would just be kind of negligent to not entertain it,” Toboni said last week. “CJ or otherwise, we’ll have our ears open. And the worst that can happen is we say ‘no’ and we go back to having our regularly scheduled programming and go from there.”
With Winter Meetings coming and going with both Gore and Abrams on the Nationals' 2026 roster, MLB.com evaluated the idea of the Nationals' upgrading the farm system by pulling the trigger on a trade.
"The return for him figures to be enormous, and Washington still has enough starters to construct a rotation for next season as its roster currently stands," MLB.com wrote. "A move would ostensibly boost the Nationals' farm system, which ranked 23rd in MLB this past summer. Ultimately, multiple executives expect Gore to be traded, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand."
Gore might be the most popular starting pitcher on the trade block, with reports that more than half of the league has checked in with the Nationals about him. The return for him figures to be enormous, and Washington still has enough starters to construct a rotation for next season as its roster currently stands. A move would ostensibly boost the Nationals' farm system, which ranked 23rd in MLB this past summer. Ultimately, multiple executives expect Gore to be traded, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Why should teams trade for the Nationals' pitcher? "Gore has been considered a star in waiting since he was the third overall pick of the 2017 Draft by San Diego and the centerpiece of the Nationals' return for Juan Soto in 2022," MLB.com wrote. "In 2025, he really started to put it all together. He was named an All-Star for the first time and entered the break with a 3.02 ERA and a 2.96 FIP across 110 1/3 innings. He boasted a 30.5% strikeout rate and a K-to-BB ratio of nearly 4-to-1 at the time. Gore has shown during those stretches that he can be a bona fide ace, and there is probably some untapped potential remaining in the 26-year-old left-hander."
Still, his collapse during the second half of the 2025 season was the main point of reason as to why teams should be cautious.
"He had a few disastrous starts out of the break and produced a 6.75 ERA and a 5.49 FIP over his final 11 turns. Gore made it through six innings only twice during that stretch, saw his K rate plummet to 20.7%, walked 29 batters in 49 1/3 innings and spent time on the injured list due to left shoulder inflammation and a right ankle impingement. He finished with a 4.17 ERA and a 4.37 expected ERA. Gore's xERA has been 4.20 or worse in each of the past three seasons."