Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Shusterman reacts to the 5-for-1 trade that sends All-Star pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers for prospects. For the latest in offseason news and analysis, Check out the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
We have ourselves another big trade involving a starting pitcher.
It has been a busy winter already with starting pitchers on the move: Sonny Gray, Shane Baz, Edward Cabrera, Freddy Peralta just happened, and now another.
Mackenzie Gore, the left-hander who has been on the Washington Nationals the last three seasons.
Since arriving in the Juan Soto trade, the 2022 trade deadline.
Mackenzie Gore has now been traded for the second time in his career.
And he is going to Texas for a five-player return.
Let’s talk about MacKenzie Gore.
Just how good is this guy?
Uh, this is one of the more confounding pitchers, honestly.
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To watch over the last handful of years.
The talent is obvious.
He has generally stayed healthy, dealt with a few minor injuries.
Injuries this past year, but he has amassed a pretty sizable workload in a Major League rotation, and the results from a run prevention standpoint have been just okay.
But the swing-and-miss stuff is there.
The strikeout rates are fantastic.
He just posted a career high in that category.
He does throw very hard for a starter.
He’s got multiple good breaking balls.
The changeup has garnered elite swing-and-miss rates, but has also given up some serious damage.
Because the command has never really been pinpoint, he’s run himself into some trouble.
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He’s also dealt with a lot of bad luck during his time with the Nationals, in terms of having very bad defenses and catching.
That have resulted in probably more runs allowed than most pitchers would in his exact situation.
But the command is not great.
The walk rate is still high.
This is a very talented pitcher that helps the Rangers.
The Rangers, very quietly, maybe the most quiet first in ERA baseball performance of all time.
Yes, the Texas Rangers had the lowest team ERA in baseball last year.
Lowest starting pitcher ERA in baseball in 2025.
It was their offense that let them down and led them to a very mediocre, disappointing season.
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Now, as for that rotation, How much of that rotation is still there?
Well, Jacob deGrom, He’s pretty good.
Nathan Eovaldi, he’s pretty good.
But those guys are getting up there in age, and do not have the strongest track record of durability.
Eovaldi, in particular, has been dealing with a lot of injuries.
DeGrom staying healthy all of last season was tremendous, but you don’t know for sure that you’re gonna be getting 30 starts out of those guys moving forward.
Patrick Corbin and Tyler Mahle.
Two other veterans who were big parts of their rotation last year.
Both reaching free agency.
Jack Leiter flashes as a rookie, but you don’t really know what you’re getting from him.
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So if Texas is gonna get back in the mix here in the AL West, I think they, they felt like they needed some more starting pitching.
And Gore brings that upside for sure.
Also, you just have to hope that a change of scenery for him coming from Washington, which before this recent regime change, one of the worst pitching development organizations in the sport.
Uh, indisputably.
So maybe Gore can unlock, you know, a new level in Texas, uh, a team that clearly has been able to create some, some solid run prevention units in recent years.
But Gore does have a lot to prove.
He, he has not yet put it all together.
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You see it in glimpses.
Yes, he made the All-Star team last year, but he was terrible after the break.
Some of that may be injuries, but he’s just been really hot and cold.
So we will see if he can find some more consistency in Texas.