Nationals Would Be Making Massive Mistake if They Trade Their Ace

The Washington Nationals sent shockwaves through the MLB landscape last weekend when they announced the decision to part ways with both their longtime general manager, Mike Rizzo, and their World Series-winning manager, Davey Martinez.

The decision to move on from two of the key architects of the Nationals' success over the past decade sent a clear message that the Nationals believe new voices are needed for future success.

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Following the shocking announcement, speculation began to swirl about whether the team would look to move on from some of its talented youngsters in an effort to secure more long-term assets.

One name in particular that has been circulated as a potential candidate for trade is budding ace MacKenzie Gore.

The 26-year-old righty has been the lone bright spot in a rotation filled with subpar production this season, and he has looked every bit the part of an NL Cy Young contender.

As such, many have begun to wonder if it would be more beneficial to sell high on Gore right now in order to continue building towards the future.

While this will certainly a tempting proposition for whoever ends up taking the reins as the new GM in Washington, it would also be a massive mistake.

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With his jump in production this season, Gore has proven he has everything it takes to be a true top-of-the-rotation guy for years to come.

He possesses truly electric strikeout stuff, currently ranked top five in all of baseball in K's with 135, and has shown a masterful command of the strike zone time and time again.

At just 26, this is the type of arm teams build their rotations around, not ship off to the highest bidder for prospects that have no guarantee of ever panning out.

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Another point to be made here is that this squad has shown they are getting closer to finally putting it all together, despite how badly things have unraveled this season.

This isn't a team that is still five or six years away, and they are potentially one or two good off-seasons away from finally getting back to the playoffs.

That timeline starts to look different if the Nationals decide to ship off the only good starter they currently have.

Therefore, the best decision for whoever ends up taking over in Washington would be to keep Gore in the fold and build out the rest of the rotation around him.

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