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ORLANDO, Fla. — The Yankees are aggressively pursuing adding to a team strength because, as everyone knows, you can never have enough starting pitching.
A quiet start to this week’s Winter Meetings heated up Monday with the Washington Post reporting the Yankees have initiated trade talks with the Nationals for 2025 All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore.
The Nationals are rebuilding and new president of baseball operations Kevin Toboni is willing to deal two of his best players – shortstop CJ Adams and Gore – for elite prospects.
Gore who turns 27 in February, has two years of team control. Several other clubs have reached out to the Nats about Gore, who was in trade rumors last summer when the Red Sox and Padres tried to acquire him.
“If we’re going to entertain something for MacKenzie, we’re going to hold a really high bar,” Toboni told the Washington Post. “I think even more than that, (we are) probably going to want a player that can help us for years, years to come.
“But that’s all TBD. We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves one way or another.”
If the Yankees are successful in their quest to re-sign free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger, they could offer the Nats a package that includes 2025 rookie left fielder Jasson Dominguez or center fielder prospect Spencer Jones.
When Yankees GM Brian Cashman was asked this week if he’s in the market for a frontline starter, he responded, “We are definitely interested in importing talent.”
Gore was 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA working 159.2 innings over 30 starts last season. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in 19 starts, three or fewer 23 times.
If you subtract Gore’s two worst outings when he allowed a combined 16 runs over 5.1 innings, his ERA drops to 3.38.
His 10.43 strikeouts per nine innings ranked sixth best for pitchers logging at least 150 innings.
Gore’s pitch mix includes fastballs that average 95 mph, curves, sliders and cutters. His two breaking balls are his best pitches.
“It’s tricky (considering a trade),” Toboni added, “because we’re sitting here thinking to ourselves, ‘Gosh, it’s going to be really fun to see a player achieve X, Y and Z’ once we put them in this environment to develop.
“At the same time, we do have to be open-minded (when) other teams come our way and give strong offers.”
Until Gore, the Yankees’ only known offseason interest in an elite starting pitcher has been incoming Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to sign a deal worth $150 million over six seasons.
Gore would come a lot cheaper money wise. A second year arbitration-eligible player with two years of team control, his projected 2026 salary at $4.7 million.
The 6-foot-2, 193 pounder was picked third overall in the 2017 draft by the Padres and in August 2022 was traded during his rookie season when the Nats moved Juan Soto. For his career, he’s 26-41 with a 4.19 ERA over four seasons with 589 strikeouts in 532.1 innings.
The Yankees are loaded with starting pitching, but three veterans will begin next season on the injured list.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon, a 2025 All-Star who had a bone spur and loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow in October, probably will be the first to return and could be back by mid-April. Former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole could return from Tommy John surgery by May or June, and Clarke Schmidt is due back from his TJ procedure sometime in the summer.
The Yankees’ projected Opening Day rotation consists of Max Fried, Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. Rodon’s return would send Yarbrough to the bullpen and Cole’s could do the same for Warren.
A Yankees trade for Gore could lead to Cashman dealing a starter for other needs, perhaps a high-leverage reliever and a right-handed-hitting catcher.
“You just do what you have to do to see if you can push yourself into something,” Cashman said. “Ninety-nine percent of this stuff doesn’t go anywhere, but the very few, this very small percentage of stuff that actually might have legs, then you’ve got to play on that.”