MacKenzie Gore Relishes Winning Opportunity After Rangers Trade

MacKenzie Gore is used to being involved in big trades. He’s just not used to winning.

At the 2022 trade deadline, the former San Diego Padres first-round pick was part of a package of five players sent to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell.

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In January, Gore was the centerpiece. The Texas Rangers traded five Top 30 prospects to acquire the left-hander, who was an All-Star last season but has never played on a winning team as a Major League pitcher. He’s eager for that to change with the Rangers.

“I felt like it was time in my career to go win somewhere and I’m excited to be here and the opportunity to win is gonna be awesome,” Gore said to MLB Network on Saturday.

MacKenzie Gore on Rangers Spring Training

"I couldn't have hand-picked a better place." - MacKenzie Gore on being traded to the @Rangers

📺 30 Clubs, 30 Camps pic.twitter.com/QhuSmmgWmY
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 1, 2026

He said that he couldn’t have “hand-picked a better place” after trade rumors swirled around him for nearly a year in Washington. The change in leadership with the Nationals put Gore on the market at last’s year trade deadline, but no one was willing to pay the price.

Gore said it also helps to have someone line Chris Young in leadership. Young was a former Major League pitcher who won a World Series ring with the Kansas City Royals and has led the Rangers from a baseball standpoint since August of 2022.

But, being in the same clubhouse with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, he said, is already an incredible experience.

“You see them from a distance, especially being in the NL — like you see him a little bit,” he said. “But now that I'm in the same clubhouse, you really get to understand it. They're good and I understand why they've been good for so long now. I'm looking forward to just trying to keep up with them.”

Gore was an All-Star even though he went 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA in 30 starts. He struck out 185 hitters, and 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.

The Nationals haven’t had a winning season since they won the 2019 World Series. The Rangers have not reached the playoffs since they won the 2023 World Series. Texas hopes that Gore is part of the solution. Gore hopes that he’ll be playing for a winner for at least the next two years.