MacKenzie Gore Trade Gives Rangers Best Starting Rotation in AL West

With Mackenzie Gore in the fold, the Texas Rangers might just have the American League West's best starting five.

New Texas Rangers starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

On Thursday, the Texas Rangers shook up what has been a relatively quiet offseason by landing ace southpaw MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals in exchange for five prospects, headlined by 2025 first-round pick Gavin Fien.

While the prospect cost is considerable, the trade for the 26-year-old Gore serves to keep the contention window open for the 2023 World Series champions. In doing so, Rangers team president Chris Young and general manager Ross Fenstermaker might have also built the best starting rotation in the American League West.

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Texas Rangers Have Loaded Starting Rotation

Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom pitches in a game against the Houston Astros. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

One might not know it from their middling third-place finish and 81-81 record last year, but Texas is coming off a season in which they already boasted baseball's lowest ERA — both among the entire pitching staff (3.47) and among starting pitchers (3.41).

Nathan Eovaldi was his typical unhittable self (11-3, 1.73 ERA) before a rotator cuff strain ended his season in late August. Jacob deGrom enjoyed a healthy bounce back season (12-8, 2.97) that earned him recognition as the AL Comeback Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Jack Leiter (10-10, 3.84) showed star potential in his first full year in the majors and Jacob Latz (2-0, 2.84) proved surprisingly effective as a versatile starter and reliever.

Each of those pitchers is set to return in 2026, plus the incoming Gore. The Rangers' newest hurler went 5-15 on a 66-win Nationals team in 2025, but still managed to strike out a career-high 185 batters and earn an All-Star invite.

Put all of that talent together, and you have an awfully formidable unit. Eovaldi, who should be ready to go after offseason sports hernia surgery, and deGrom will anchor an intriguing rotation.

The fifth spot in the rotation will likely be a competition between Latz, Kumar Rocker and left-hander Cody Bradford, who is expected to miss the first month of the season following offseason UCL surgery.

Put that all together and you have an imposing rotation, arguably more impressive than Texas' 2023 championship unit that included the likes of Jordan Montgomery and Max Scherzer after trade deadline deals. In comparison to the Rangers' AL West rivals, it stands well above the starting staffs of the Framber Valdez-less Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Angels (with new pitching coach Mike Maddux) and the Athletics.

In fact, the only division rival that comes close to possessing the same caliber of starting pitching is the Seattle Mariners, armed with a deep group of starters that includes Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Bryce Miller. However, Eovaldi, deGrom, Leiter and now Gore offer a level of elite upside that the Mariners' starters simply don't have.

Whether that means Texas can reclaim the division or has what it takes to return to the World Series remains to be seen. But with an already impressive starting staff further bolstered by Gore's arrival, the Rangers are clearly built to win now.