OPINION:
The Juan Soto trade tree keeps bearing fruit for the Washington Nationals.
They sent a piece of what Soto left behind — pitcher Mackenzie Gore, who was an All-Star in 2025 — last week to the Texas Rangers for five prospects.
Add that to the five young players — including Gore — and prospects Washington got for trading Soto to San Diego in 2022, and that’s 10 players one great young outfielder who helped lead the Nationals to the 2019 World Series.
That’s a lot of mostly invisible players.
There may be more to come. So far the Nationals have reportedly rebuffed trade offers for shortstop C.J. Abrams, one of the players in the Soto deal, but the right amount of invisible players could likely persuade the new Washington front office to add more prospects.
President Paul Toboni and general manager Anirudh Kilambi understand, after all, that prospects are the kinds of players their bosses, the Lerner family, love the most. They don’t cost much.
But prospects get fans of losing teams like Washington excited because they are invisible. They haven’t failed yet. Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said it best about prospects. “I’ve been around baseball for 60 some years and what I’ve found is even your best prospects are suspects until they come to the big leagues and prove they can play.”
It is not unreasonable to conclude that the Gore trade is a new version of the Soto deal — trading a player with value that you know has no intention of signing a long-term contract with Washington when his contract runs after two more years. Similar circumstances led to the Soto trade in 2022.
I’m not suggesting that Gore is the same level of player that Soto was when he was dealt. Of course not.
That would explain the return in the two trades.
Washington was celebrated for the young players they acquired from the Padres in the Soto deal — Gore, Abrams, outfielders James Wood and Robert Hassell and pitcher Jarlin Susana.
Different reaction to the Gore trade.
Washington got Gavin Fien, the 12th overall pick in the Rangers’ 2025 draft and their No. 2 prospect, plus pitcher Alejandro Rosario (who needs Tommy John surgery), infielder Devin Fitz-Geral, first baseman/outfielder Abimelec Ortiz and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera.
No one is showering praise on the Washington front office for this return.
“It’s a big win for the Rangers, in my opinion,” The Athletic reported, quoting one official anonymously. “They got the best player in the deal by a wide margin and they didn’t give up (top prospect, infielder Sebastian) Walcott or any significant 40-man piece.
“A rival executive also preferred the Rangers’ end, citing in part the track record of Chris Young, Texas’ president of baseball operations. The Nationals’ new POBO, Paul Toboni, is in his fourth month on the job,” The Athletic reported.
The reality is that no one knows for sure whether these are players or suspects.
Still, it had to be done, just like the Soto trade had to be done — just like the James Wood deal will have to be done after the 2028 season, before he becomes eligible for free agency following the 2030 season.
Wood’s departure may hurt like Soto’s did. Coming off an All-Star season with 31 home runs and 94 RBI, he could prove to be on that level.
All of them are represented by agent Scott Boras, who never advises his young stars to sign contract extensions with their existing teams. He refers to them as “snuff contracts.”
You can’t fault the Lerners for failing to sign players who won’t sign. This is why former general manager Mike Rizzo realized the organization had to make the most of the time that Gore, Wood and Abrams, who is not represented by Boras and can be a free agent in 2029, were under their control.
It’s the reason that Rizzo asked the Lerners to spend on payroll in 2024 and 2025 to compete — not hefty long-term contracts but deals for mid-level free agents for two or three years to supplement the young talent.
Josh Bell, Paul DeJong and Michael Soroka on low-cost, one-year deals weren’t what Rizzo had in mind.
A $60 million active payroll to support the young players falls squarely on the shoulders of ownership that has lied to their customers.
Now Gore, a talented left hander who made the All-Star squad but struggled in the second half on his way to a 5-15 mark and a 4.17 ERA, is gone.
The clock is ticking on Abrams, a 2024 All-Star shortstop. The sound of time passing for Wood is deafening.
Catch Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
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