On January 22, 2026, the Texas Rangers finally did it! They pulled off their first ‘splash’ of the offseason. They moved silently in the night and made a truly shocking, sizable move to bolster their starting rotation by acquiring left-hander MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals in a five-for-one trade — sending a group of five prospects to Washington in exchange for the soon-to-be 27-year-old hurler who’s under club control through the 2027 season.
The prospects the Rangers mailed to the Nationals were:
- Gavin Fien (18, SS/3B) — their No. 2 prospect and a high first-round pick
- Alejandro Rosario (RHP) — ranked as the Rangers’ No. 6 prospect (currently injured with a Tommy John issue)
- Devin Fitz-Gerald (INF) — No. 12 in the system
- Yeremy Cabrera (OF) — No. 16 overall
- Abimelec Ortiz (1B/OF) — No. 18 in the Rangers’ prospect rankings
On paper, that looks like the Rangers parted with their #2, #6, #12, #16, and #18 prospects in the system. Many fans immediately pointed to that mix and argued the Rangers gave up a ton of future talent for just one arm.
But it’s also important to note that rankings don’t always tell the full story. Some of those arms — particularly Rosario — were already trending down the board because of injury (Rosario is expected to miss the 2026 season due to Tommy John surgery), and none of the position players had yet to crack MLB’s top 100 overall list. That softens the hit considerably compared to simply reading the numbers off a depth chart.
And perhaps most crucially, in my opinion, the Rangers didn’t part with some of the best pieces from their system — including:
- Winston Santos
- David Davalillo
- Caden Scarborough
- Cameron Cauley (prospect flyer that I like for the future)
- Cody Freeman (I may be slightly biased towards him now)
- #1 prospect Sebastian Walcott
Keeping Walcott in particular — perhaps the Rangers’ best pure hitting prospect and future cornerstone — while still upgrading the rotation is a big win for Texas long term.
Impact on the Rotation
The most headline-grabbing part of the trade is how it reshapes Texas’ starting staff. With Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, and Jack Leiter on the Opening Day roster, the Rangers now have what projects on paper as an elite four-headed rotation.
- deGrom remains one of the game’s best, capable of dominating when healthy.
- Eovaldi posted one of the more impressive seasons of his career in 2025 before an injury cut his year short.
- Gore gives them a controllable arm with All-Star experience (185 strikeouts and a career-high show in 2025).
- Leiter has the upside of a frontline arm if his development continues on its current trajectory.
Even if someone like Gore isn’t perfect, there’s clear depth and swing-man potential here that can carry a rotation deep into the season.
Offense & Supporting Cast
Because of this Gore acquisition, the offense now reads in a slightly different light. With Jake Burger and Joc Pederson projected to produce better seasons in power and overall run production — if the lineup as a whole can perform at even league average levels, which it struggled to even reach league average levels in anything offensively last season, it gives Texas a real chance to find themselves at an interesting deadline once again. The bullpen still needs work, but offensive stability would help preserve arms late in games. CY and company have made additions to the bullpen this offseason – Alexis Diaz, Jakob Junis, and Tyler Alexander, to name a few – but it still needs a lot to go right. Just needs a little less to go right with the slight offensive additions, projected production increases, and now this addition of Gore to bolster the starting rotation.
What Could’ve Been
Of course, the Gore trade also reignites last Summer’s fallout: Was the 2025 trade deadline mishandled? Texas gave up a lot of young pitching prospects at that deadline — including multiple arms who could have been rotation or bullpen cogs at the big league level in the semi-near future — and didn’t make the playoffs. I, and fans alike, still wonder how much stronger the bullpen might have been today if those pieces had been carefully farmed on younger, controllable arms that were on the market rather than flipped in a win-now gamble on a sliver of hope that didn’t end up producing October baseball.
Bottom Line
The MacKenzie Gore trade is emblematic of the Rangers’ current strategy: go all-in on elite pitching now while trying to protect key offensive and future pieces. The Rangers achieved the goal of not overpaying, nor getting ‘fleeced’ as the kids say, with this move. It’s a high-risk, high-ceiling move — if the offense can produce at league average at least, and if Gore, deGrom, Eovaldi, and Leiter can consistently deliver, Texas could be a sneaky, gritty contender again. Whether this move will be remembered as a bold masterstroke or another near-miss likely won’t be clear until after this season’s final out.