MacKenzie Gore Bold but Costly Move for Rangers To Bolster Rotation

The Texas Rangers hope MacKenzie Gore’s quality tools combined with a resurgent offense gives them another quality rotation option.

Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore during action in the 2025 season. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Most of the offseason Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young has said he’s wanted to add a starting pitcher. But Thursday’s trade was bold.

Young parted with five Top 30 prospects in a deal that helped the franchise acquire All-Star Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore. The 26-year-old is a former first-round pick of the San Diego Padres and comes with two years of team control.

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Acquiring Gore gives the Rangers a quality backstop to the staff’s top two starters, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. He can slide in front of Jack Leiter as the rotation’s No. 3 starter. It also means the Rangers can allow Kumar Rocker, Jacob Latz and Cody Bradford to compete for the final spot. With Bradford likely out until May, Gore could be the rotation’s only left-handed pitcher on opening day.

Gore had been highly sought after in the trade market since the Nats fired general manager Mike Rizzo in July. Texas parted with a considerable part of its future to do what Young vowed he would do this season with a restrained budget — contend.

So, what are the Rangers getting in Gore?

MacKenzie Gore’s Rotation Fit

Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore in action in 2025. | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Gore had a curious season. He went 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA in 30 starts. But he went to the All-Star Game for the first time based on his ability to strike out hitters. He fanned 185. Had he not gone on the injured list on Sept. 11 with a right ankle injury, he might have crossed 200 strikeouts. He was among the Top 25 in baseball in strikeouts.

In 2024 he went 10-12 with a 3.90 ERA with 181 strikeouts and 65 walks in 166.1 innings. He’s struck out at least 10 hitters per nine innings twice in his career. It makes him a good fit alongside deGrom and Eovaldi, who also strike out hitters at a high rate.

He uses five different pitches and is most reliant on a four-seam fastball, which he threw 49% of the time in 2025. He averaged 95.3 mph on that pitch. He also throws a curveball, a slider, change-up and cutter. His curveball runs 81.6 mph, above the left-handed league average of 79.1 mph.

MacKenzie Gore's Percentile Rankings at Baseball Savant for 2025. Red and blue in some players that should play well at Globe Life Field. pic.twitter.com/Khmgz3xYay

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) January 23, 2026

He has several qualities the Rangers like —he forces chase (29.9%, 70th percentile), he had a high whiff rate (29.7%, 80th percentile) and has a high strikeout rate (27.2%, 80th percentile). He also has a low walk rate (9.3%, 28th percentile) a low barrel rate (10.6%, 14th percentile) and a low hard-hit percentage (44.1%, 30th percentile).

With Globe Life Field now geared as more of a pitcher’s park, Gore’s profile is a good fit alongside the current rotation. The move brings stability to the back end of the rotation, even if the cost was significant to the organization. But the Rangers needed something like this trade to truly contend in the American League West Division.