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Starting pitching is at a premium in Major League Baseball, and that's never more on display than at the trade deadline. Contenders around the league are seemingly always scrambling for starting arms at the deadline, and that is no different in 2025 as Thursday's cutoff approaches. The Chicago Cubs are one of those teams, and the Washington Nationals are taking calls on some of their best players from all over the league.
One of the big names that is in the middle of trade buzz this year is MacKenzie Gore. Gore came over to the nation's capital in the Juan Soto trade and looks like a future star on the mound, but is also someone that can help a team like the Cubs push for a potential World Series this fall.
As a result, the asking price is understandably steep for Gore at the deadline. If the Cubs want to acquire him, it will cost them one of their young stars in return according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel.
“Jesse Rogers noted that the Chicago Cubs are looking to add a starting pitcher with years of control and would consider including a young position player, though hopefully not a top prospect, to make that happen,” McDaniel wrote. “MacKenzie Gore is one of those targets, and the key player the Washington Nationals are rumored to want in a return package is Matt Shaw, who isn't yet on the table and graduated from prospect status this season with 71 MLB games.”
Shaw would be a steep price to pay for any player in a trade. Shaw has struggled at the plate during his rookie season, but he has improved throughout the campaign and has showed his skills in the field, making him an attractive player for the Nationals to target.
Still, the Cubs may feel like giving up Shaw is worth it to get Gore in return. The 26-year-old left-hander was named an All-Star for the first time this season and has posted a 3.52 ERA in 117 2/3 innings. Gore is a strikeout machine, with 144 punch-outs to just 44 walks this year.
Gore's record is just 4-10 in large part thanks to some poor outings from a subpar Nationals offense when he is on the mound, but going to a loaded Cubs team could see that improve in a hurry. While it will be costly, Chicago may end up biting the bullet and making the trade anyway.
