Last offseason, the Nats traded MacKenzie Gore in exchange for five prospects. Four of those prospects have already played, and have shown varying levels of promise. However, there was a 5th who had to miss all of last season with Tommy John Surgery. The story of Alejandro Rosario is mysterious, but he posted that he was back on the mound for the first time in over 600 days.

Rosario was always the wild card of the Gore deal. He has had a strange and volatile baseball career so far. Coming out of high school, Rosario was a known commodity. However, he decided to forgo the draft in favor of pitching at the University of Miami. He struggled at Miami, posting an ERA over 7 in his sophomore and junior seasons.

Despite that, Rosario still got drafted in the 5th round by the Rangers in 2023 due to his pedigree and stuff. The gamble the Rangers made on Rosario immediately looked like a wise one. He shredded the lower minors in his first season of pro ball. Rosario posted a 2.24 ERA with 129 strikeouts to just 13 walks in 88.1 innings in 2024.

Those numbers made him a top 100 prospect. There were not many holes in Rosario’s profile at the time. His fastball sat around 96-97 and could touch 100. The right paired that with a filthy splitter that took major strides forward in pro ball. That pitch sat around 90 MPH and was a wipeout offering. His last pitch is a nasty slider that flashed plus.

The raw stuff was impressive, but I would argue his command was even better. Rosario had some strike-throwing problems at Miami, but he pounded the zone in the pros. He walked less than 4% of hitters in 2024. That combination just overwhelmed minor league hitters.

However, Rosario has not thrown a pitch since that season, which makes him a very boom or bust prospect. Before the 2025 season, Rosario suffered a torn UCL which required Tommy John Surgery. The issue is that Rosario did not actually undergo Tommy John Surgery in 2025.

It is unclear why that did not happen. I am not sure if we will ever know the full details, but it seems like there was some other issue that prevented the surgery. It might have been medical or something else, but the surgery did not happen.

Even after Rosario got traded to the Nats, there was mystery surrounding whether he got the surgery. It was reported he got the surgery in the winter, but it turned out that was not the case. Eventually, Rosario finally got the surgery though.

With the news that Rosario is throwing again, it seems like the recovery is going well. Heading into next season, this will be one of the more fascinating storylines to follow. Rosario is also Rule 5 eligible this offseason, so the Nats have a decision to make there as well.

Obviously, this is far from a guarantee, but if Rosario looks like he did in 2024, he will be the best player from the Gore package. Sure, he turns 25 in January, but the combination of stuff and command is rare. Of all the minor leaguers, he might be the one I am most intrigued by.

There are so many possibilities here. Maybe the best role for him could be in the bullpen, at least to start. After all, it will take him a while to build up from an innings perspective. However, there is a world where Rosario could have a Cade Cavalli like trajectory where he is a top of the rotation arm in a couple years.

It is nice to finally have news about Rosario. Hopefully, there are no ill effects from the surgery and he can thrive again. One of the reasons Toboni wanted a volume focused package for Gore was so he can take a gamble on Rosario. This is a mysterious situation, but there is monster upside in Alejandro Rosario.