Does Seth Lugo Deal Drive Up Trade Price for Nationals MacKenzie Gore?

The talk around baseball is that there are several teams that are interested in taking Washington Nationals star MacKenzie Gore in a trade.

So far, the Nats haven’t bitten. It would likely take an offer Washington could not refuse to make it happen.

One way to make that happen is to find a way to drive up the price. Sometimes it’s performance. Sometimes it’s external factors, such as a desired target coming off the market.

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That happened on Sunday, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Kansas City Royals and starting pitcher Seth Lugo were finalizing a multi-year extension, one that keep him in KC for the next few years.

Lugo was considered by many to be one of the most desirable trade targets at the deadline. He carried a $15 million player option for 2026, but the belief was that he had pitched well enough to not exercise it and go into free agency again.

Lugo was in his second year in Kansas City and was 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 19 starts. He had 99 strikeouts and 33 walks in 113 innings.

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He was coming off an incredible 2024, which was his first season with the Royals. He went 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA in 33 starts, which led Major League Baseball. He had 181 strikeouts and 48 walks in 206.2 innings. He earned his first berth in the All-Star Game, his first American League Gold Glove, finished second in AL Cy Young voting and 15th in AL MVP voting.

With one of the top potential trade targets off the market, that impacts any team looking to make a deal on starting pitching because now they must look elsewhere. With the trade deadline coming up on Thursday, that will drive up the price for a player like Gore — and that could make the Nationals more likely to bite.

Gore, a left-hander, is 4-10 with a 3.52 ERA. He has great swing-and-miss stuff, with 144 strikeouts in 117 innings. He just made the All-Star team. Washington would like to keep him because he can’t be a free agent until 2028.

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But it’s the same reason that other teams want him — talent and two additional years of team control.

Before the Lugo extension, Gore might have fetched two prospects for the Nationals. Now that Lugo is off the market and there are fewer options, Gore might net Washington three prospects.

That could be a price tag that interim general manager Mike DeBartolo and his staff won't be able to pass up.

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