MacKenzie Gore is one of the top young pitchers in the game of baseball. Being traded early on in your career can be a tough thing to overcome; however, the southpaw quickly established himself as a star with the Washington Nationals.

The San Diego Padres traded Gore, along with many others, including James Wood and C.J. Abrams, for Juan Soto and Josh Bell in 2022. The Padres built a World Series-caliber roster that season and were three wins away from a Fall Classic appearance. After a miserable 2023 campaign, the Padres missed the playoffs and then dealt Soto to the New York Yankees for Michael King and Randy Vasquez.

In hindsight, the Nationals have seen the better side of the deal, even after San Diego's run in 2022. Gore, Wood, Abrams, and even Hassell III are a great core to build around. Even so, the Nationals are just a flat-out bad baseball team. The Nationals have won only 196 games in the last four seasons combined.

In 2025, the Padres are fighting for the playoffs once again, and the Nats have the second-worst record in the National League. The Nationals were sellers at the deadline. Michael Soroka, Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia, and Alex Call were all dealt.

Washington almost considered trading Gore back to the San Diego Padres. According to Ken Rosenthal, that idea was never going to happen this season.

“The Padres showed interest in re-acquiring MacKenzie Gore, whom they traded to the Washington Nationals as part of the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade at the 2022 deadline. But they did not make specific offers, according to a source briefed on the discussions.”

“The Nationals have lost numerous stars to trades or free agency, from Soto to Bryce Harper, Trea Turner to Kyle Schwarber. Gore, with two additional years of club control remaining, is at the same level of service Soto was in 2022. Like Soto, he is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients generally shun extensions for free agency. But under an interim general manager, Mike DeBartolo, the chances of the Nationals trading Gore were never great.”

The Nationals take on the Athletics on Tuesday at 3:45 for the first of three in Washington.

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