Ahead of the start of MLB winter meetings next week, it’s now looking increasingly likely that at least one National has played his last inning in a Nationals uniform.

Days after being one of 15 players mentioned as potential trade candidates, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the growing belief is that left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore “will definitely be among those moved” over the next week. ESPN’s Jeff Passan previously noted that new director or baseball operations Paul Toboni was exploring a potential move with an “understandably high” asking price.

“Execs report a ton of trade talk going on right now, with some front office types saying teams are more open, more willing than in recent years to discuss a range of players. There is a perception in a couple of front offices that the Nats' MacKenzie Gore will definitely be among those moved in the days ahead,” Olney wrote on X on Friday evening. 

Gore is coming off his first All-Star appearance where he posted 185 strikeouts in nearly 160 innings and 30 starts, making him an easy trade acquisition with teams circling around the 26-year-old. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also reported that the belief is that “more than half of the league” has inquired about Gore ahead of trade talk set to pick up next week.

“He’s really good and so it doesn’t surprise me that teams are reaching out on him. I had a conversation with MacKenzie the other day and I said hey, before we really even hop into this, this is going to be a thing. Teams are going to call about you because you’re really good,” new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said during Wednesday’s edition of the Baseball Tonight podcast.

“What I’m tasked with and what the group here is tasked with is we want to hold a high bar but also, we’re going to listen because that’s part of our job. That’s exactly what I told MacKenzie. We’re really excited to have him in our organization and one of the things I think I’m most excited about with him is I still think he’s still not fully who he can be as a pitcher. I’m really excited about the development process for him too assuming he’s in a Nats uniform next year. I think we’re going to get the best version of MacKenzie that we’ve seen in his career.”

Gore was listed alongside shortstop CJ Abrams as 15 most likely trade candidates with the Nationals and manager Blake Butera tasked with a rebuild. Whether the Nationals move on Gore could materialize over the next week, but Toboni made clear the emphasis to build a relationship with the current Nationals pitcher that he once scouted out of Whiteville High School in North Carolina.

“I remember having conversations with him dating back to high school. I have an amateur scouting background where I come from…watched him a ton in high school so talked to him a fair amount in that process and then when I took the job, he was one of the first people I called. I wanted to introduce myself and get to know him,” Toboni told Olney. “He’s such an important part of this organization. It’s important to me to have relationships with players. One, I think it’s a really important part of the job, but then two, it’s maybe one of the most gratifying parts of the job for me. I like doing it and MacKenzie just happens to be one of a number that I’ve reached out to and started formal relationships with.”