Nationals Are Unserious if They Actually Entertain Trading Young Ace at Deadline

The Washington Nationals must not consider making a move involving their young superstar.

Jul 2, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) sits in the dugout after being relived against the Detroit Tigers during the sixth inning at Nationals Park | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals have had a rough go of it this season and have been through some serious turmoil as a franchise.

They fired their manager and general manager and entered the All-Star break 20 games below .500 and 17 games out of the division lead already.

The hope the Nationals were going to surprise folks this year just has not come to fruition.

As they get set to approach the trade deadline, they are seen as sellers, as they should be.

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Trading aging veterans on deals which expire soon is one thing.

Entertaining trading away key young building blocks is another.

Since the regime change in the nation's capital, many have openly wondered whether Washington might send away young superstar ace MacKenzie Gore.

Rumors, speculation and even some potential trade proposals have made their way around the baseball world as everyone sees the Nationals in complete disarray.

Someone like Gore -- who is still under team control for two seasons after 2025 before he hits free agency -- is a way for them this franchise to get out of that disarry.

In fact, it's scary to think about how much worse things could be if the left-hander was not in the equation.

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The 26-year-old has dominated en route to a 3.02 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 110.1 innings pitched.

Finally living up to the billing as a top prospect this season, Gore has been one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the game this year.

Washington made a phenomenal move when they got the haul that included Gore for Juan Soto, but a trade that lopsided is not going to fall into their lap again.

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Sure, Gore would command a huge return and it's tempting to at least hear teams out, but at the end of the day, winning organizations keep their best players and try to win with them rather than what they might get in return for them.

If the Nationals go out and trade Gore, they cannot convince their fanbase they are serious about winning, because reality would be the opposite.

At the end of the day, Washington is not likely to actually entertain shipping the best young pitcher they've had in a decade out of town.

But the fact that it's even being discussed has to be frustrating for fans to hear.

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