Arguably the biggest move of the Texas Rangers’ offseason was their five-for-one swap of a handful of prospects for Washington Nationals LHP MacKenzie Gore, bringing in the 26-year-old to hopefully add to the Rangers’ strong rotation.
So far, it seems like manager Skip Schumaker likes what he has in the lefty.
The Rangers’ first-year skipper recently visited with former Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski and the rest of the Foul Territory crew where he discussed the early goings-on at spring training and what he thinks of his new squad so far. Some of the strongest comments made by Schumaker came from how impressed he’s been with Gore, and how the young starter is already learning from the pair of aces in front of him in the Rangers’ rotation.
“Mackenzie’s a pro, that’s the best way I can explain it,” Schumaker told Foul Territory. “Every drill he does is with intent, whether it’s the bullpen, weight room, training room. And he’s sitting right to [Jacob] deGrom and Evo [Nathan Eovaldi] inside that clubhouse, which goes a long way.”
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Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker watches pitcher MacKenzie Gore throw in the bullpen during a spring training workout at the team’s training facility on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
DeGrom and Eovaldi return to the Rangers looking to anchor the rotation the same way they did last season when they posted ERAs of 2.97 and 1.73, respectively. Schumaker seemed to put a lot of weight into Gore glomming onto the duo in Surprise.
“The clubhouse, the way it works, you can have really good coaches around,” Schumaker explained, “but when you have superstar, potential Hall of Fame players sitting right next to you in your same department, that goes a long way. I saw it firsthand when I was growing up in the Cardinals system with [Adam] Wainwright and [Chris] Carpenter and how that went, and I can see that happening right now [with deGrom and Eovaldi].”
Gore doesn’t exactly need to revive his career — he comes to Texas with a career ERA of 4.19 across four seasons, but he’s viewed as a starter with upside who could potentially take another step toward the deGrom-Eovaldi level. Gore’s ERA was in the low 3’s for the first few months of last season before it ballooned up into the 4’s in the second half.
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Schumaker, who worked with Gore for a season while both were with San Diego, believes the lefty’s improvement will “only go in the right direction.”
“He’s a freak athlete, obviously the left-handed starter that we really needed in the rotation,” Schumaker said. “I have no idea what it’s gonna be like but I’m assuming it’s gonna be really good, because he’s learning from some of the best in the game.”
Watch the full clip below.
“He’s sitting right next to deGrom and Eovaldi inside the clubhouse, which goes a long way.”
Skip Schumaker described new Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore as a “pro.” 😤 pic.twitter.com/EVwMJRI8Ze
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 22, 2026
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