Will Nationals Shockingly Consider Trading Their Best Player to Red Sox?
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The Washington Nationals are still in the middle of their post-Juan Soto rebuild, meaning the most important players to keep on their roster are young players and prospects who have high ceilings and room to grow.
MacKenzie Gore fits that description very well, and might even be the best player on the team overall. But with the trade deadline slowly approaching, could the young ace actually be a trade chip that Nationals fans never saw coming?
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Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer put out his list of "8 MLB Trade Predictions Ahead of 2025 Deadline", proposing some potential suitors for big-name players who could be on the move. He included Gore as one of those players, eyeing the Boston Red Sox as potential suitors.
"As Gore is only 26 and controlled through 2027, the Nats might as well listen and see if anyone offers a boatload of talent that could help get their years-long rebuild back on the right track," Rymer writes. "And if any team should indulge them, it's the Red Sox."
"Whereas their offense has kept humming along even after the trade of Rafael Devers in June, the starting rotation just keeps getting thinner underneath staff ace Garrett Crochet. Kutter Crawford and Hunter Dobbins are already done for the year, and the same may prove to be true of Tanner Houck after his latest setback."
"The Red Sox are contending despite this, and they would be wise to take the position that the World Series would be within reach if they scored a proper co-ace for Crochet. To this end, Gore is a perfect match on paper."
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Washington is now deep into last place in the National League East at 17 games back, with the fourth-place Atlanta Braves at 12.5. They'v been firm sellers since the start of the summer and are now at 40-60 through 100 games.
Whatever package the Nationals could get from Boston or any team would be a haul, like consisting of more prospects than players. Washington would be able to overload what is already a talented farm system that just added Eli Willits with the first pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
While Dobbins is done for the year, he could still be a valuable young arm with big league experience for Washington. In terms of prospects, if the Nationals wanted pitchers in return, they would likely want at least once of Luis Perales or Payton Tolle, both of whom could be ready for the majors sooner rather than later. They are the No. 4 and No. 5 prospects in Boston's farm system, respectively. Yordanny Monegro and Blake Wehunt are two lesser-known arms that could that could be thrown in as sweetener.
Rymer emphasizes the idea of a gem like Marcelo Meyer or Kristian Campbell being the nucleus of the return package - someone of that stature would likely be needed in the trade given Gore's production and age. If one of those players were part of the deal, Washington would likely not ask for an overhaul of hitting prospects to break the bank, but could be interested in Top 30 guys like Allan Castro or Mikey Romero.
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The Red Sox have shown they are willing to give up a big haul for proven pitching via the Garrett Crochet trade, so the Nationals could get themselves some solid foundation should they decide to move off Gore.
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Anders Pryor is an MLB writer and contributor at On SI a part of the Sports Illustrated network. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Journalism and spent his senior year interning with the sports desk at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Anders loves spending his free time running in the park and being with friends.
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