MacKenzie Gore has emerged as Washington’s ace, but the Nationals might be better off trading their lefty starter now rather than waiting.
That’s the advice from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, who sees Gore as one of the biggest assets new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has to work with this offseason.
“One of the biggest trade pieces Toboni has to dangle is lefty MacKenzie Gore,” Bowden writes. “Gore has two years of control left, but it’s unlikely the Nationals would keep him past his arbitration years, so trading him now makes the most sense.”
It’s all about timing.
Gore’s at his peak value right now – a front-line starter with two years of team control remaining. But Washington’s core pieces like James Wood, Dylan Crews and C.J. Abrams are just getting started. By the time those guys are ready to lead a contender, Gore might be gone anyway.
That’s where the math gets interesting for Toboni. He’s inherited plenty of young talent – it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together in a way that actually wins games.
The Long Game
Trading Gore would feel like a step backward in the short term. You’re dealing away your best pitcher, after all.
But if you’re being honest about where this team stands, it makes sense. The Nationals aren’t competing for anything meaningful in 2025 or probably 2026 either. Gore’s timeline is just a little ahead of their core group.
A contending team would pay serious prospect capital for Gore right now. That’s the type of return that could accelerate Washington’s rebuild and give them more pieces to work with when they’re actually ready to win.
It’d be a bold move for Toboni to actually pull the trigger, but Bowden’s got a point. Sometimes you have to make the tough call to set yourself up better down the road.
All things considered, it’s the kind of deal that might work out well for everyone involved.
