MacKenzie Gore Trade Grades: Rangers Land High-Upside Lefty in Six-Player Deal

Gore is a high-upside lefty who has struggled with consistency.

Then Washington Nationals traded starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers in exchange for five prospects. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers continue to reshape their roster after a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw them miss the playoffs. On Thursday, they made a big move.

MacKenzie Gore is headed to Arlington after the Nationals finally found a trade partner for his services, following months of speculation. In exchange, Texas is sending five prospects back to Washington as the team enters what looks like a full-scale rebuild under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.

The Rangers are landing a 26-year-old lefty with ace upside, but sent a lot of prospects away to land him.

Rangers, Nationals grades in MacKenzie Gore trade

Rangers receive: LHP MacKenzie Gore
Nationals receive: 3B Gavin Fien, RHP Alejandro Rosario, 1B Abimelec Ortiz, SS Devin Fitz-Gerald, OF Yeremy Cabrera

Rangers grade: B

Gore has long been projected as an ace, but has yet to reach those heights. It seems every season he flashes what he’s capable of, but eventually comes back to earth. The 2025 season was a microcosm of his career.

During 19 first-half starts, Gore was 4–8 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 138 strikeouts against 35 walks in 110 1/3 innings. His FIP was 2.96, and he was eighth in fWAR (3.1) among MLB starting pitchers. He was a no-brainer as an All-Star.

But his season took a sharp turn. In 11 post-All-Star game starts, Gore went 1–7 with a 6.75 ERA, an abysmal 1.70 WHIP and 47 strikeouts against 29 walks. Opposing batters hit .288 against him. He finished the season 5–15 with a 4.17 ERA, 1.35 WHIP,and 185 strikeouts versus 64 walks in 159 2/3 innings.

It was an exaggerated version of what had typically unfolded in the past, as he has a career 4.91 ERA in the second half, while he’s at 3.87 in the first half.

The Padres made Gore the third pick of the 2017 MLB draft, and he immediately jumped up the prospect ranks. His four-pitch mix of a mid-90s fastball, curveball, slider, and change all projected to be plus offerings. He still possesses that talent level, but needs to learn how to harness it. He made his debut with San Diego in 2022 but was shipped to Washington as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto to the Padres.

The Rangers are getting a guy with ace upside and will put him in a rotation that features Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Jack Leiter. He’ll need to be a sponge around them to improve. The first order of business will be finding a way to make his four-seamer less hittable. In 2025, opposing batters had an xBA of .290 and an xSLG of .504 against it. The xBA on his curve (.205), slider (.199), changeup (.207) and rarely-used cutter (.185) are all good, he just needs to sort out his fastball. If Gore finds full-season consistency, this could wind up being an incredible deal for Texas.

Gore will make $5.6 million in 2026, and is under team control through the 2027 season.

Nationals grade: C+

The Nationals signaled for months that Gore was available, while also hinting shortstop CJ Abrams would be, too. At first glance, a young lefty starter with team control should have netted more quality than Washington got, but there are positives here.

The headliner is Fien, whom the Rangers selected with the 12th pick in the 2025 draft. The 18-year-old was drafted as a shortstop, but is likely to end up at third base or a corner outfield spot, where his bat will still play. He played in 10 games after being drafted last summer, slashing .220/.267/.341. At 6’3” and 200 pounds, he’s already solidly built and should be able to access more power as he ages. The upside in his bat has made him a fringe top 100 prospect.

Rosario is a 24-year-old hard-throwing righty who ranked sixth in the Rangers’ system. A fifth-rounder in 2023, he made 18 appearances (17 starts) in 2024, going 4–5 with a 2.24 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 129 strikeouts against 13 walks while reaching High A ball. He underwent Tommy John surgery in spring training last year, which robbed him of the momentum he’d created. He’ll return sometime in 2026.

Devin Fitz-Gerald (No. 12), Yeremy Cabrera (No. 16), and Abimelec Ortiz (No. 18) weren’t top 10 prospects in the Rangers’ system and all project as organizational depth pieces, with the 20-year-old Cabrera having the most upside.

The Nationals are accumulating bodies right now. Fien is a solid add, and Rosario’s value will depend on how he returns from elbow surgery. While Texas wasn’t going to part with top prospect Sebastian Walcott, a trade for a young left-handed starter with serious upside should have included another top 10 prospect from the system.

---