What people around MLB are saying about the MacKenzie Gore deal, plus more offseason notes

Prospect-based trades are impossible to evaluate the day they are made, and often for years afterward. But within the industry, certain types of deals are immediately recognizable.

The Washington Nationals’ trade Thursday of left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers for five prospects was one such example. The Nationals’ return seemingly was driven by their statistical models and desire for surplus value. And, in the view of some rival officials who were granted anonymity for their candor, the Nats received more quantity than quality.

“It’s a very heavy model/surplus value deal over impact,” one official said.

The headliner in the return was infielder Gavin Fien, the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of Great Oak H.S. in Temecula, Calif. Fien, 18, was the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect. The Nationals also acquired right-hander Alejandro Rosario (No. 6), infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald (No. 12), first baseman/outfielder Abimelec Ortiz and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera (No. 16). Rosario will require Tommy John surgery, according to people briefed on his medical condition.

None of the new Nationals players cracked the Top 100 Prospects list released Wednesday by Baseball America. By contrast, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired two Top 100s from the New York Mets for right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers – infielder/outfielder Jett Williams (No. 71) and right-hander Brandon Sproat (No. 81).

Peralta is under club control for one season, one fewer than Gore, but he has been the better and more durable pitcher. The Brewers, coming off a 97-win season, also are in a different competitive cycle than the Nationals, who are rebuilding.

Milwaukee wanted the best major-league ready talent it could acquire. Washington preferred a broader portfolio and 30 years of club control, though the upside of the individual players they acquired might be lower. Their haul was similar in scope to the Tampa Bay Rays’ return from the Baltimore Orioles for right-hander Shane Baz, who is under club control for three more seasons.

“It’s a big win for the Rangers, in my opinion,” one official said. “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.

“Gore is good not great but has big upside with some health concerns from last year,” the exec said. “Fien is a really good bat but probably a first baseman. The other guys are talented.

“The bottom line is that I like it for the Rangers just because I think Chris Young is really good at evaluating his own players. He whiffed on one deal – (Cole) Ragans (for Aroldis Chapman). Otherwise all the other deals he’s made he has never given anything up.”

The trade of Ragans to the Kansas City Royals wasn’t that big a whiff – Chapman helped the Rangers win the 2023 World Series. But in hindsight, Young acknowledges that perhaps he should have parted with a different player than Ragans, who finished fourth in the 2024 American League Cy Young voting. And when informed of the rival exec’s praise, Young was quick to point out that his trade of Gore could one day haunt his franchise.

“We do our best to know our players. but every single guy we gave up, we believe in,” Young said. “We gave up good players, I can tell you that. But we gave them up because they were farther from the big leagues. They were just not going to help us this year.”

Max at midseason?

In a telephone conversation Thursday, free-agent right-hander Max Scherzer said he is healthy and ready to sign at any moment if certain teams call. But if the right opportunity is not available, Scherzer also is content to wait until after Opening Day for an opening to emerge with one of his preferred clubs.

Scherzer, 41, did not specify which teams he is willing to join. But he could follow a plan similar to the one Roger Clemens employed in 2007, when he signed with the New York Yankees on May 6 for his age 44 and final season. At this stage of his career, Scherzer can afford to be choosy, remaining at home with his wife, Erica, and four children until he gets the right offer.

When we last saw Scherzer, he was pitching gallantly for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing one run in 4 1/3 innings. During the regular season, he produced only a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts after missing most of the first three months with right thumb inflammation. But after getting left off the Jays’ Division Series roster, he returned to his future Hall of Fame form in the League Championship Series and World Series, producing a 3.77 ERA in three starts.

More on the Peralta deal

The Rangers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins all expressed varying degrees of late interest in Peralta before the Brewers dealt him to the Mets, league sources said.

Throughout the offseason, however, the Mets were the most persistent team regarding their efforts to acquire Peralta, who is set to be a free agent after the season. The Houston Astros were another team to show interest in Peralta, but they dropped out last month after trading top prospect Jacob Melton as part of a three-way trade that landed them starter Mike Burrows.

Outfielder Carson Benge, the Mets’ top position player prospect, was never seriously on the table during trade conversations for Peralta, league sources said.

Such a stance further illustrates the Mets’ belief in Benge, the club’s first-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2024 (the first draft under president of baseball operations David Stearns and vice president for amateur scouting Kris Gross).

Throughout the offseason, Stearns has expressed interest in leaving the door open for Benge to crack the Opening Day roster out of spring training. The Mets do not have someone firmly established in left field, though Brett Baty and Tyrone Taylor are expected to see time there.

Benge is already in Port St. Lucie after spending some time during the offseason hitting with the Holliday family at Oklahoma State.

The impact of local TV uncertainty

As nine teams await resolution on their local television plans for 2026, the lingering uncertainty is affecting the free-agent pursuits of at least of one of those clubs, the Cincinnati Reds, according to people briefed on the team’s plans.

Third baseman Eugenio Suárez and outfielder Austin Hays are among the free agents drawing the Reds’ interest, those people said. But the Reds feel they are not in position to move forward until they gain more clarity on their long-term local TV outlook.

The nine teams set to be carried by Main Street Sports Group cancelled their deals earlier this month after the company missed scheduled rights-fee payments. Main Street has made revised offers to the clubs, contingent on the company finding a buyer. Otherwise, the teams could end up under Major League Baseball’s broadcasting arm.

For the Reds, the problem is that the longer they wait on their preferred free agents, the greater the chances those players will sign with other clubs. The Los Angels Angels appear to be in a similar position, hamstrung as the Main Street negotiations continue.

Some of the Main Street clubs seem less affected than others. The Atlanta Braves, for example, rank ninth in free-agent spending this offseason at $114.3 million. Other teams, like the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays, never intended to spend much, anyway.

The Milwaukee Brewers, on the other hand, rank last in free-agent spending. Their only deal thus far was a one-year, $1.25 million contract for outfielder Akil Baddoo. And on Wednesday they traded Peralta, who was set to earn $8 million this season, for two players who will earn the minimum salary or close to it if they reach the majors.

The other teams awaiting resolution are the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins.

Nationals’ Young next to go?

The Nationals’ Jacob Young is a popular trade target among teams seeking to upgrade in center field, but it’s unclear whether Washington will move him.

Young, 26, is under club control for four more seasons, and could fit in an outfield/DH rotation with Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile and James Wood, and possibly Robert Hassell III.

The Nationals believe those players and others might improve with the instruction they will receive under the team’s new regime. But of course, club officials viewed Gore similarly and ended up trading him anyway.

And finally…

After sitting out last season, Aaron Sanchez won the Dominican Winter League’s Pitcher of the Year award this winter and is attracting interest from clubs, league sources said. In eight starts (46 1/3 innings) over the winter, Sanchez had a 1.55 ERA.

Sanchez, 33, has not pitched in the major leagues since 2022. Formerly a top prospect, Sanchez is best known for time with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was an All-Star in 2016, going 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA.

From 2017-22, however, Sanchez experienced injuries and produced a 5.29 ERA. In 2024, he had a 7.92 ERA in 61 1/3 innings while pitching for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A team.