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MacKenzie Gore (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty)
The Rangers acquired Nationals lefthander MacKenzie Gore for a package of five prospects, headlined by 2025 first-round pick Gavin Fien. Washington also landed SS/2B Devin Fitz-Gerald, RHP Alejandro Rosario, OF Yeremy Cabrera and 1B Abimelec Ortiz, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Gore will now round out a Rangers rotation headed by a resurgent Jacob DeGrom, veteran Nate Eovaldi and former highly rated prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. He has two years of arbitration remaining before he hits free agency heading into 2028.
In return, new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni continues a swift organizational overhaul. His old club, the Red Sox, were linked to Fien in last year’s draft, and he also acquired RHP Luis Perales from Boston in exchange LHP Jake Bennett. Toboni also swung a deal with the Mariners for catcher Harry Ford, who cracked Baseball America’s Preseason Top 100.
RANGERS RECEIVE
Mackenzie Gore, LHP
Age: 27
Drafted by the Padres third overall in 2017, Gore debuted with San Diego in 2022 and made 16 appearances. The Nationals acquired him in the Juan Soto trade at the 2022 trade deadline. Gore pitched three seasons with the Nationals earning his first all-star nod in 2025 after a tremendous first half.
Things cratered for Gore down the stretch, though, and he posted a 6.75 ERA over his final 49.1 innings. Gore dealt with injuries over the final month of the season that required two stints on the injured list, first with shoulder inflammation and later with an ankle impingement. If Gore can find his all-star form and maintain it over a full season, this will be a major win for the Rangers.
Gore mixes a four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. Last season, he dropped the usage on his four-seamer by a significant margin, upped the usage of his curveball and changeup and added the cutter.
That led to a jump in performance for both his fastball and slider. Gore, particularly in the first half of the season, drove more chases, more whiffs inside the strike zone and weaker contact.
Gore’s fastball sits 94-96 mph with above-average ride from a difficult angle due to his plus extension. His curveball is a downer pitch in the low 80s with a good blend of power and movement. The slider is a mid-to-high-80s gyroball and had the highest run value in his arsenal last season. Gore’s lack of vertical separation between his fastball and changeup led to the latter consistently underperforming.
NATIONALS RECEIVE
Gavin Fien, SS
Age: 19
Fien was the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft, lauded for his advanced offensive ability and remaining projection. As an amateur, he was as decorated as they come and was a staple of USA Baseball’s national teams. He owns a short, quick swing and a sharp eye that allows him to contact and impact a variety of pitch types while limiting his strikeouts. These gifts give him a ceiling as a potentially above-average hitter with 55-grade power as well. Defensively, he’s probably a safe bet to move off shortstop thanks to his size and remaining growth potential. His arm is strong enough to handle third base, and his offensive tools would help him profile there as well. He’s a below-average runner and should be a fringy defender no matter where he lands.
Devin Fitz-Gerald, SS/2B
Age: 20
The son of longtime Stoneman Douglas High head coach Todd Fitz-Gerald, Devin was one of the most polished players in the 2025 Arizona Complex League and bullied his way to Low-A before the season concluded. He’s a baseball rat’s baseball rat, and scouts and coaches give him high marks for his makeup. Like Fien, Fitz-Gerald projects as an above-average hitter, though his power might settle in a tick lower at around average. He could boost that projection by getting more balls in the air. He’s a fringy defender who fits best at second base but would be the kind of player who gets every last ounce out of his abilities and isn’t afraid to get his uniform dirty. He’s a below-average runner but has plenty of savvy on the basepaths. A strained left shoulder limited his Low-A stint to just 10 games.
Alejandro Rosario, RHP
Age: 24
Two seasons ago, Rosario was one of the sport’s breakout pitchers. The Rangers bet they could unlock heaps of ability by tweaking the arsenal he employed during a middling career at Miami and were rewarded with a player who fricasseed the competition at Class A. Unfortunately, his career has been on pause ever since. A torn elbow ligament before spring training required Tommy John surgery, but the operation was delayed until 2026. As a result, he will miss all of the 2026 season as well. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster after the season, which could shelve him even further if the game goes into a lockout and rostered players are barred from playing in the minor leagues. His stuff makes him a solid gamble, but it will be a while before Washington can reap the rewards.
Yeremy Cabrera, OF
Age: 20
Cabrera is a solid, well-rounded player who was one of the finest outfield defenders in Texas’ system and would fit nicely in center field one day. At the dish, there’s potential that will need to be unlocked. He makes solid contact and pulls the ball in the air at positive clips, but his barrel accuracy needs to improve. The lefty-swinging Cabrera also is extremely vulnerable to same-side matchups and hit just .202/.329/.327 in 59 at-bats against lefties in 2025. Cabrera has plenty of raw talent. Now, it’s on Washington’s revamped player development system to turn potential into reality.
Abimelec Ortiz, 1B
Age: 24
Ortiz has plenty of power from the left side of the plate and produced a strong enough season in 2025 to earn a spot on Texas’ 40-man roster. He’s a bigger-bodied player and will likely fit as a first base-only defender whose value comes from his bat. There are still holes in his game, and he’s probably more of a second-division player, but lefthanded power is in short supply, making a flier worth the risk at the back of a deal.