Why Rangers Protected High-Rated Prospects in MacKenzie Gore Trade

The Texas Rangers gave up five prospects in the deal to acquire pitcher MacKenzie Gore. It’s a lot, but it could have been worse.

Texas Rangers prospect Sebastian Walcott walks to the plate with a bat in the MLB Futures Game Skills Competition. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers needed another starting pitcher. The answer was MacKenzie Gore. The cost to get him was steep.

The Rangers acknowledged they gave up quite a bit of prospect capital to get Gore from the Nationals, who has two more years of team control. All of them were considered Top 30 prospects — third baseman Gavin Fien, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald, right-handed pitcher Alejandro Rosario and center fielder Yeremy Cabrera.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

The fact that the Rangers were able to steer the Nats away from top prospects like pitcher Sebastian Walcott, pitcher Caden Scarborough and pitcher David Davalillo isn’t lost on the organization.

“Obviously, these are talented players, and they have bright futures,” Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker said. “But we're in a moment in time where we have a team we believe is capable of winning and winning a championship.”

In fact, it could have been worse, based on interest in Gore last year. There's a reason why the Rangers protected those prospects.

Why Rangers ‘Won’ Their End of Trade

Back in July, teams were reaching out to the Nats on Gore after the franchise fired general manager Mike Rizzo. The belief was that Washington might be willing to part with the former first-round pick. But the price acting general manager Mike DeBartolo was asking for was steeper than what the Rangers gave up.

The Chicago Cubs were among the teams that were interested but the Nats wanted at least two Top 100 prospects in return — outfielder Owen Caissie and pitcher Jaxon Wiggins, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago. The package would have included four players.

The Rangers gave up five, but only Ortiz — who was on the 40-man roster — was on the 40-man roster. Fien was the organization’s first-round pick last July while Fitz-Gerald and Cabrera haven’t reached Triple-A yet. Rosario will have Tommy John surgery this year.

Texas protected Walcott — who should start at Triple-A Round Rock this year — from the trade. Davalillo could reach Round Rock this season while Scarborough elevated his profile after a standout 2025 and is considered a Top 100 prospect in baseball.

The Rangers know giving up five Top 30 prospects is a hit to the organization. But they didn’t give up players that were in their immediate future, which was a priority to help Texas now. That allows the Rangers to leverage those three players in the next two years, assuming they continue to develop.

“This is what you have to do to win, and we are willing to do that,” president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “There may be a moment in time where you want to have a stronger farm system. But the system, the strength of the system, is allowing us to make these moves.”