Washington Nationals News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Would Nationals Be Wise to Trade MacKenzie Gore This Offseason?

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 11:06 AM ET

The Washington Nationals are getting a new era of baseball underway for their franchise.

The previous regime that ushered in the team's first-ever World Series championship is no longer in place after getting fired in the middle of the season. As such, a new baseball operations architect was needed, and the Nationals made a significant splash by hiring up-and-coming Boston Red Sox executive Paul Toboni.

In the hires that have followed, Toboni has brought some of his old Red Sox coworkers with him, a sign that things in Washington will likely follow a similar blueprint to how Boston operates when it comes to how things are run in the nation's capital. But that's merely an educated guess since no one quite knows how the Nationals are going to operate this winter under a first-year president of baseball operations.

Could Nationals Trade MacKenzie Gore This Offseason?

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

However, many out there are speculating -- or maybe hoping -- that MacKenzie Gore is going to be dealt. His name continues to pop up as someone who could be moved this offseason, which begs the question: could they actually trade their ace?

The left-hander seemed to be on the verge of a true breakout this season. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career due to the incredible first half of the year he had. But once again, he wasn't able to sustain it over the full length of the campaign.

For his career, Gore has an ERA of 4.19 across 105 appearances (102 starts). His ERA+ is two points below the league average of 100. He walks batters at a higher clip than average and also gives up more hard contact than the average MLB pitcher.

That doesn't exactly suggest he will flip the switch and become the dominant starting pitcher he was billed to be during his career, especially because he is now 26 years old.

Nationals Should Not Trade MacKenzie Gore

Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Still, there's no doubt that 2025 was the best Gore has looked since Washington acquired him as a headliner of the Juan Soto trade. And based on the issues they have when it comes to their pitching staff, trading away that type of player would be shocking.

One could argue that this would be the best time for Washington to trade Gore if they're ever going to do it. They held onto him ahead of the trade deadline this past year, which likely would have netted them a monster return. So dealing him now after he came back from an injury and finished the 2025 season strong could generate something similar.

However, what the Nationals need more than anything going forward is pitching. And they'd have to hope that anyone they'd get back for Gore would turn into the type of arm that he is right now, which is not a given based on the terrible injury history their prospects have had.

So while Gore might be a bit underwhelming in his big league career thus far -- and he might never reach the ceiling many projected for him -- he's still the best starting pitcher Washington has right now. And he's someone they should build around, even if they have to add a true No. 1 at some point in the future.