Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the acquisition of left‑handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals in exchange for SS Gavin Fien, INF Devin Fitz‑Gerald, RHP Alejandro Rosario, 1B/OF Abimelec Ortiz, and OF Yeremy Cabrera.
Gore, 26, earned National League All‑Star honors in 2025, posting a 4–15 record with a 4.17 ERA (74 ER/159.2 IP), 3.74 FIP, 185 strikeouts, and a career‑best 3.0 bWAR across 30 starts. Among NL pitchers with at least 30 starts, he ranked 3rd in strikeouts per nine (10.43), 11th in total strikeouts, and 12th in FIP. He also recorded a career‑high 14 quality starts and produced a personal‑best 1.353 WHIP.
Gore notched 13 strikeouts on both March 27 vs. Philadelphia and April 19 at Colorado, joining Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and Seattle’s George Kirby as the only MLB pitchers with multiple 13‑strikeout outings in 2025.
Since debuting with San Diego in 2022, the Wilmington, N.C. native has gone 26–41 with a 4.19 ERA (248 ER/532.1 IP), 4.02 FIP, and 589 strikeouts in 105 games (102 starts) with the Padres (2022) and Nationals (2023–25). The former third overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft was traded to Washington in the 2022 deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego.
From 2023–25, Gore ranked 4th among NL qualifiers with 10.06 K/9, trailing only Freddy Peralta, Zack Wheeler, and Jesús Luzardo. His 517 strikeouts over that span ranked 6th in the NL, and his back‑to‑back seasons of 180+ strikeouts (181 in 2024, 185 in 2025) made him the first NL left‑hander to do so since Patrick Corbin (2018–19). He was also one of just 11 NL pitchers to make 100+ starts from 2022–25, becoming the first NL arm to reach that mark in his first four seasons since Kenta Maeda (2016–19).
Players Sent to Washington
Gavin Fien, SS (18)
Texas’ 12th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Fien appeared in 10 games for Single‑A Hickory, going 9‑for‑41 (.220) in his first professional action.
Devin Fitz‑Gerald, INF (20)
A 5th‑round pick in 2024, Fitz‑Gerald hit .302 with 6 HR and 20 RBI across 41 games between the ACL Rangers and Single‑A Hickory in 2025.
Alejandro Rosario, RHP (24)
Rosario spent the entire 2025 season on the 60‑day Injured List. The Florida native was selected in the 5th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Miami.
Abimelec Ortiz, 1B/OF (23)
Ortiz played 130 games between Double‑A Frisco and Triple‑A Round Rock in 2025 before being added to the Rangers’ Major League roster on November 18. He originally signed with Texas as a minor league free agent in 2021.
Yeremy Cabrera, OF (20)
Cabrera hit .256 (98‑for‑383) with Hickory (A) in 2025. The left‑handed outfielder signed with Texas as a minor league free agent on January 15, 2022.
With today’s transactions, the Rangers remain at the 40‑man roster limit.
