FanSided’s Zachary Rotman recently proposed a league-altering trade based on intel from ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel that would send Washington Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielder Matt Shaw, outfielder Owen Caissie, starting pitcher Jaxon Wiggins, and reliever Jack Neely.
As McDaniel noted for ESPN.com, the Nationals are high on Shaw, one of the Cubs’ best young playeres.
“Giving up on Shaw,” Rotman wrote, “a 2023 first-round pick who has just started to get hot at the MLB level, would be incredibly tough for the Cubs, but to get a starter like Gore, it could be worthwhile. Giving Shaw up would be a lot, but Chicago would have to part with much more to get a young, cost-controlled starter like Gore.
“Trading Gore would be a brutal outcome, but this is a ton that the Nationals would be receiving. They could come to regret the All-Star left-hander, but everyone thought they made a mistake trading Juan Soto away. Trading Gore away could lead to similarly outstanding results if they make this deal with the Cubs.”
There’s a lot to unpack here.
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First of all, it seems unlikely the Nationals will trade Gore as he’s entering his prime with multiple years of affordable team control left on his contract. But if there’s a team in baseball that can change the Nationals’ mind, it’s the Cubs.
Could this make sense for the Nationals? The answer is, surprisingly, yes.
The four players sent to Washington in this deal would all be big league ready by next season. That would place a potential franchise infielder, Shaw, alongside CJ Abrams. In the outfield, another potential cornerstone, Caissie, would slide in next to Dylan Crews and James Wood. Additionally, the Nats could quickly insert Wiggins into the rotation, too. And Neely would need to show some growth, but if he can throw more strikes, he’d fit into the bullpen.
For the Cubs, this sort of bold move only really works if they also are able to secure a contract extension with Kyle Tucker. Trading away Tucker’s replacement, Caissie, (not to mention Isaac Paredes’ replacement at third base, Shaw) would blow up in their faces if Tucker walks.
But adding Gore to this rotation would make the Cubs the favorites to win the World Series. At the end of the day, that’s a risk worth taking.
It seems unlikely, but it’s one of the more realistic Gore trade ideas floating around.
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