The Washington Nationals could receive a massive haul if they choose to trade the All-Star left-hander.
A trade market that figured to be short on starting pitchers received a surprising twist with the latest rumors surrounding Washington Nationals All-Star MacKenzie Gore.
Though Jon Heyman reported that the Nationals are “very unlikely” to move the breakout ace, it is worth noting that they are at least willing to listen and received calls from at least six teams. Along with James Wood and CJ Abrams, Gore has been one of the few Nationals providing hope for the future, but the rest of the roster is so barren that the team may not be ready to compete before Gore hits free agency after the 2028 season.
With so few potential frontline starters available at this year’s deadline, the Nationals should at least be willing to hear out teams' potential offers for the 26-year-old left-hander, and one team that could meet the price is the Seattle Mariners. Despite already making a trade for slugger Josh Naylor, the Mariners still possess one of the deepest farm systems in baseball, including eight of MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects. Add in the club’s urgency to make the postseason for just the second time in 25 years and a rotation that has been decimated by injuries and it’s no wonder why Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer named the Mariners as Gore’s best fit.
“Gore has a 3.59 ERA and 140 strikeouts through 112.2 innings, which is still about 55 short of his career high. He's therefore a dominant starter who should have gas in the tank, which is what Seattle needs,” Rymer wrote. “Seattle's farm system is ranked at No. 1 in the league by B/R's Joel Reuter, and it's loaded with the kind of high-upside talent the Nats need to hasten the long-awaited end of their rebuild.”
The Mariners have been patiently building their prospect inventory for years, and Gore could finally be the piece that causes them to break the bank. The left-handed power pitcher would perfectly complement All-Star right-handers Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo and form a playoff rotation that would give them an edge over every other American League team.
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