On Thursday afternoon, Paul Toboni and the Washington Nationals reached a sudden conclusion to the seven months of MacKenzie Gore trade discussions. The left-hander was shipped off to the Texas Rangers for five prospects, including the 12th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Gore, who will be 27 when the season begins, fully took on the ace role for the Nationals at the start of 2025, mowing down the Phillies lineup on a historic Opening Day. Boasting a 3.67 ERA through his first 10 starts of the year, Gore made his first All-Star team and quickly garnered trade interest before the deadline. With Gore struggling mightily in the second half, however, it was unclear how much interest the southpaw would attract in the offseason despite having two years remaining of club control. While it took much longer than many expected, however, Gore’s value seemed to hold up quite well.
Headlining the return is the aforementioned Rangers’ number three prospect, Gavin Fien, a shortstop taken just 11 picks after Washington chose Eli Willits with the first selection. The 18-year-old from California hit .220 in his 10 A-ball games after being drafted, with the plan being to let him get a full offseason of work entering the spring. Graded with a 55 hit tool and a 50 overall, Fien stands 6-foot-3 and could very well wind up as a third baseman down the line, similar to Brady House’s journey. First base is also not out of the question for Fien in the long term, depending on how his five tools fill out throughout his development in the revamped Washington farm system. While there is a long way to go, and Fien is not expected to be in the big leagues until 2029, the idea of him and Willits coming up together has the potential to open a whole new era for the franchise.
Fien is not the only shortstop that Paul Toboni snagged from the Rangers, however. Devin Fitz-Gerald, a 20-year-old fifth rounder in 2024 out of Boca Raton, Florida, hit .302 with six home runs in just 139 at-bats between the ACL and Carolina League in 2025. The 5’10” switch-hitter has a 2028 MLB ETA, boasting a 55 hit tool but not a lot of power. It wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up playing more second base down the road, barring an unexpected power surge. As long as he can keep barreling the ball, he has potential to play a big role in this organization moving forward.
Alejandro Rosario, Texas’ number 13 prospect, is the only pitcher heading to the Nationals in the package. The 24-year-old righty pitched for Miami in college and pitched to a 2.24 ERA over 18 outings in the lower MiLB levels before missing all of last year due to an elbow injury. However, he waited almost a full year to actually undergo the operation, meaning he will also not pitch in 2026. Prior to his injury, Rosario had touched 100 with his 60-grade fastball and was a top-50 prospect in the sport. Barring a lockout or any setbacks, Rosario will first pitch for the Nationals organization at age 25 sometime in 2027.
Yeremy Cabrera, the 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, was the trade’s lone outfielder. The career .259 hitter over 937 at-bats in the minors was the Rangers’ 14th ranked prospect, and will likely start in Wilmington or Fredericksburg come the season’s opener. Meanwhile, Abimelec Ortiz, the almost 24-year-old unranked first baseman and final piece of the trade, is expected to start in AAA after he hit .283 with a 36 home runs/162 games pace at that level to close out 2025.
While Ortiz is the only piece of the trade who is likely to see MLB action in 2026, the deal has tons of upside for Washington in the long run. As Toboni had stated all offseason, the team was not going to force a deal. The front office had their high bar met, and the move can now expedite the painful rebuild process.
“I would be bummed to see a player of this caliber leaving. But I would paint a much more optimistic picture. I think the excitement that comes with these players that we’re getting in return exceeds the disappointment of seeing MacKenzie go.”
Ultimately, similar to how it was in 2022 with Juan Soto, the sting of the trade is no joke for Nationals fans. However, if Gore was not going to re-sign (which indications and history said that he wouldn’t), then trading him for maximum value was the correct move. As I wrote last week, letting him take the mound before a lockout on an arbitration deal was the worst possible outcome for a rebuilding team because his value was too high. While the success of this deal relies solely on how the prospects develop, Toboni took his shot, and (on paper) the results have massive promise.