Gore dealt to Rangers for five prospects, source confirms

The Nationals have agreed to trade left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers for a package of five prospects, including Texas’ first-round pick from last summer’s draft, in Paul Toboni’s first blockbuster deal since becoming the club’s president of baseball operations.

The trade, which has not been officially announced yet but was confirmed by sources familiar with the details, sends Gore to Texas with two years of club control remaining and makes the 26-year-old burgeoning ace the first player acquired in the Juan Soto megadeal of 2022 to be dealt away.

As was the case in the Soto deal, the Nats receive five prospects in return for Gore, though this package does not include as many highly rated players.

The return from the Rangers features shortstop Gavin Fien (a 2025 first round pick), right-hander Alejandro Rosario (formerly a top-50 prospect who is expected to miss the entire 2026 season following Tommy John surgery), infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald (drafted in 2024 out of high school), outfielder Yeremy Cabrera (20-year-old signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2022) and first baseman Abimelec Ortiz (23-year-old who posted a .953 OPS in 41 games at Triple-A last season).

Those five players’ most recent rankings among the Rangers’ top prospects, per MLB Pipeline: Fien (No. 2), Rosario (No. 6), Fitz-Gerald (No. 12), Cabrera (No. 16) and Ortiz (No. 18). None made Pipeline’s overall Top-100 list, though that organization has yet to update its rankings for 2026.

The specter of a Gore trade has loomed for a while, dating back to last summer, when interim general manager Mike DeBartolo considered offers for the lefty prior to the July 31 deadline. In the end, DeBartolo didn’t receive an offer he deemed good enough and decided to wait for the offseason, at which point Toboni was hired as the permanent replacement for ex-GM Mike Rizzo.

Toboni acknowledged throughout the winter he would consider dealing both Gore and shortstop CJ Abrams, but that the asking price would be high. It took several months, with spring training now set to begin in less than three weeks, but he finally found an offer he was willing to accept.

Though he was inconsistent, Gore was unquestionably the Nationals’ most accomplished starter the last two seasons and earned the first All-Star selection of his career last summer after a dominant first half that briefly saw him lead the majors in strikeouts. Often plagued by poor run support from his teammates, the lefty wound up going 22-37 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.391 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings over 89 starts with the club.

Gore, who turns 27 next month, agreed earlier this month to a $5.6 million contract for this coming season. He’ll still be arbitration-eligible in 2027 before then becoming a free agent. With the Nationals still prioritizing long-term goals over short-term success, it became increasingly unlikely Gore would still be around when the team is ready to win again.

An already-thin rotation, though, now looks even thinner as spring training fast approaches. The Nats will be counting on 2020 first-round pick Cade Cavalli to lead a staff of starters that could also include right-handers Brad Lord, Jake Irvin and Josiah Gray, plus left-hander Foster Griffin (the only major league free agent signed to date by Toboni).