In a recent report from Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, it is clear that MacKenzie Gore is a player that will be traded by the Washington Nationals at some point this 2026 MLB season.
In their report, they stated, “Teams expect Gore to be wearing a different uniform by the end of 2026. They just aren’t sure whether a deal will happen now or at the trade deadline in July. New Washington president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has held discussions with multiple teams about Gore, but the ask is understandably high. Gore’s impending free agency after 2027 complicates things somewhat.”
It would make more sense for the Nationals to trade MacKenzie Gore sooner rather than later, as with them coming off a season in which they held a 66-96 record, a clear rebuild needs to be initiated.
The team needs to get younger, and also have players with long-term contracts on the team to build around. With MacKenzie Gore set to hit free agency after 2027, he doesn’t fit their timeline.
The team he does fit the timeline for that needs to trade for him is the New York Yankees.
*THIS IS A PREDICTION, NOT A REPORT*
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The New York Yankees aren’t completely deprived of pitching talent, but also when injuries plague the rotation like it did in 2025, it creates a recipe for disaster down the stretch. This was what truly held the Yankees back in the playoffs, as well as the regular season.
With the lack of quality depth throughout the rotation, it led to New York being overly reliant on their offense to perform at a peak level. When the offense wasn’t performing great, it put more pressure on the pitching, and they faltered. This was shown from June 13 to August 23, when the pitching staff had a 27-35 record, 4.42 ERA, and allowed 4.9 runs per game, while the offense scored just 4.7 runs scored per game.
The Yankees need better pitching, and how they can do so is by trading for MacKenzie Gore in a win-now move.
MacKenzie Gore is coming off a 2025 season where he had 185 strikeouts, a 4.17 ERA, and 1.35 WHIP over 159.2 innings. He only just recently started to put things together in 2024, so he hasn’t necessarily shown the consistency to be relied on as a top pitcher, but in New York with Gerrit Cole, when he returns to being fully healthy, Gore wouldn’t have to be the top pitcher.
With MacKenzie Gore still having upside, adding him into the middle of the rotation would pay off immensely for the Yankees in the 2026 season.