The Texas Rangers landed the most coveted arm remaining on the trade market when they acquired MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals in exchange for five prospects, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced.
Gore, 26, earned his first All-Star nod in 2025, and while he faded a bit in the second half, still possesses one of the most dominant left-handed arms in the game. He established career highs in strikeouts (185) and strikeouts per inning (10.4) last season for Washington.
Part of the return package includes shortstop Gavin Fien, as the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 draft joins the No. 1 overall, Eli Willits, in Washington’s system.
The Rangers finished last season 81-81, their second consecutive non-winning season since taking the 2023 World Series. They traded second baseman Marcus Semien to the New York Mets, non-tendered slugger Adolis Garcia and have been relatively quiet this offseason otherwise.
Now, they can slot Gore between the right-handers Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom atop the rotation, giving them a potentially dominant starting pitching look.
That’s assuming Gore, whose fastball reaches 98 mph, cleans up some of his peripherals. He posted a 1.35 WHIP last season and walked 3.6 batters per nine innings. Yet after the trade of Freddy Peralta from Milwaukee to the New York Mets Jan. 21, Gore was the clear-cut best remaining arm on the trade market – and he comes with two years of club control before becoming eligible for free agency.
Gore joined Washington as one of the centerpieces of the blockbuster 2022 deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego. While the trade worked out splendidly for the Nationals, with Gore, shortstop CJ Abrams and slugger James Wood emerging as foundational pieces, the Nationals lost 91, 91 and 96 games in the three full seasons since that deal.
Their most recent struggles preceded the firing of manager Dave Martinez and longtime GM Mike Rizzo. Now, the original rebuilding structure is getting torn down as new GM Paul Toboni tries to construct a winner anew.
In addition to Fien, a high school draftee from Temecula, Calif., the Nationals will receive right-hander Alejandro Rosario, a 24-year-old who sat out all of last season. Abimelec Ortiz (Class AAA outfielder, 23), Devin Fitz-Gerald (Class A infielder, 20) and Yeremy Cabrera (Class A outfielder, 20) are also headed to Washington.
MacKenzie Gore trade details
Texas Rangers receive:
LHP MacKenzie Gore
Washington Nationals receive:
SS Gavin Fien
RHP Alejandro Rosario
1B/OF Abimelec Ortiz
INF Devin Fitz-Gerald
OF Yeremy Cabrera