Rangers surrender massive trade haul for Nationals' MacKenzie Gore out of nowhere

Texas Rangers fans have known that president of baseball operations Chris Young has wanted to add another starting pitcher this offseason. Since the top of the Rangers' rotation is loaded with talent (Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter), most expected Young would acquire a solid back-end rotation arm such as José Quintana, Justin Verlander, etc.

However, Young shocked the baseball world by acquiring the best starting pitcher remaining on the market: Washington Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore. The New York Post's Jon Heyman was first to report the trade.

Rangers surrender massive trade haul headlined by Gavin Fien for Nationals' MacKenzie Gore out of nowhere

Gore, who is under team control through 2027, wasn't cheap for Texas to acquire. The Rangers surrendered a package of five prospects headlined by 2025 first-round pick Gavin Fien, a shortstop, in the deal, according to the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant.

Per The Athletic's Jim Bowden, the other prospects in the deal are right-handed pitcher Alejandro Rosario, first baseman/outfielder Abimelec Ortiz, infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera.

It's a massive haul for the Nationals. The trade shows that the Rangers are committed to winning in 2026 despite their limited budget. In the near term, Rangers fans should be excited. But in the long term, losing those five prospects could end up being a mistake. Still, Young deserves credit for trying to win now, despite the unfavorable circumstances he was given by ownership.

Rangers' stunning MacKenzie Gore trade shows Texas is committed to returning to playoffs in 2026

Gore, 27 in February, avoided arbitration with the Nationals for 2026, agreeing to $5.6 million for the year. He has one year of arbitration remaining after this season before becoming a free agent in the 2027-28 offseason. The trade is the second blockbuster deal Gore has been part of, as the San Diego Padres sent him, James Wood, C.J. Abrams, Luke Voit, Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana to the Nationals on August 2, 2022, in exchange for Juan Soto and Josh Bell.

Last season, Gore represented the Nationals in the All-Star Game and posted a 4.17 ERA with 185 strikeouts and 64 walks in 30 starts across 159 2/3 innings. Although his ERA wasn't great, he had an elite chase rate (70th percentile), whiff rate (80th percentile) and strikeout rate (80th percentile). He relies on five pitches: a mid-90s four-seamer (49.3%), low-80s curveball (24%), mid-80s slider (11.8%), mid-80s changeup (10.3%) and low-90s cutter (4.7%).

Gore will likely slot in as the Rangers' third starter behind deGrom and Eovaldi. Leiter should be the fourth starter, and Kumar Rocker and Jacob Latz will probably compete for the fifth starter role. Additionally, lefty starter Cody Bradford is expected to return in May.