Texas Rangers acquire All-Star pitcher in trade

The Texas Rangers are not about to sit idly as all the teams around them improve. They made a big move on Thursday to get better.

The Rangers acquired All-Star pitcher MacKenzie Gore in a trade with the Washington Nationals. They’re sending five prospects to the Nats in return for Gore. Here are the players involved in the deal, along with their ranking within the Rangers’ system according to MLB:

• 3B Gavin Fien (#2 in Rangers system)
• RHP Alejandro Rosario (#6)
• INF Devin Fitz-Gerald (#12)
• OF Yeremy Cabrera (#16)
• 1B/OF Abimelec Ortiz (#18)

Gore was a former top prospect himself who was drafted No. 3 overall by the San Diego Padres in 2017. He was traded to Washington in 2022 as part of the Juan Soto deal. Gore went 5-15 last season for Washington with a 4.17 ERA. His numers were much sharper in the first half, where he went 4-8 with a 3.02 ERA in 19 starts. His solid first half helped him earn his first ever All-Star nod.

Gore is under team control through 2027, so the Rangers should be getting two years of the southpaw prior to him hitting free agency. They will add him to a rotation that already includes Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.