Cherry Blossom Seeds: Washington Eyes Rebirth with 5-Prospect Haul in Gore Commerce

The burners of the recent range have been simmering throughout baseball since Kyle Tucker’s signing, and on Thursday, the Washington Nationals added their substances to the pot, buying and selling two years of MacKenzie Gore’s providers to the Texas Rangers for a five-player prospect bundle (Ben Clemens wrote about Gore’s match with the Rangers right here). This marks the second vital commerce of the Paul Toboni period in Washington (Harry Ford for Jose A. Ferrer was the opposite) as he and the brand new members of the entrance workplace look to place their fingerprints on the org. The deal consists of Texas’ 2025 first rounder Gavin Fien, injured former prime pitching prospect Alejandro Rosario, 2025 rookie-level breakout bat Devin Fitz-Gerald, 23-year-old 1B/RF masher Abimelec Ortiz, and 20-year-old outfielder Yeremy Cabrera.

In distinction with yesterday’s Freddy Peralta commerce, the Gore return is a couple of mixture of depth and potential ceiling, relatively than the proximity and extra concrete upside of the two-player Peralta bundle. Affordable minds may think about any of Fien, Rosario, or Fitz-Gerald because the headliner of this deal. Every of these guys has the bodily expertise to be an on a regular basis massive leaguer, although every additionally comes with a measure of uncertainty too nice to contemplate any of them a High 100 prospect proper now. I’ll stroll you thru the gamers who’re becoming a member of Washington’s farm system, then we’ll take a step again and look at the state of the group’s path below new management.

There are people in baseball who love Fien, the twelfth total choose in final yr’s draft who signed for practically $5 million to eschew a dedication to the College of Texas. Fien swings exhausting, he has spectacular energy for his age, and he was one of many prime performers on the highschool showcase circuit, with a 1.045 OPS in occasions tracked by Synergy Sports activities from 2023 to 2024. The scouts and golf equipment who appreciated Fien probably the most earlier than the draft thought of him a mid-first spherical prospect, and top-of-the-line couple of highschool hitters within the class. I used to be (and am) personally a good bit decrease on Fien, and had him ranked thirty fourth. The size and awkward look of his swing gave me pre-draft pause about his means to match professional velocity, and I believe Fien’s infield actions will no less than pressure him to 3rd base, if to not proper discipline (the place his arm can be weapon). The mix of strikeout danger and a nook match, no less than in my eyes, relegated him extra to the comp spherical regardless of his energy. His look in professional ball after the draft — a 10-game pattern at Low-A Hickory plus Educational League exercise in Arizona — bolstered these notions. That is the participant within the deal the place you’re prone to get the widest vary of opinions, and my private take occurs to be on the decrease finish of that continuum.

Earlier than he acquired damage, the alternative was true of Rosario, who I believed had turn into top-of-the-line couple of pitching prospects in baseball in 2024. However that was earlier than he blew out and issues acquired (and stay) sophisticated. A really well-known prospect since his highschool underclass days, Rosario’s mid-to-upper-90s fastball used to overlook frustratingly few bats due to its form. He ran an ERA over 7.00 throughout each his sophomore and junior years on the College of Miami regardless of sitting 95-96 mph with a plus slider and splitter. The Rangers shortly overhauled Rosario’s supply, most notably his arm slot, which turned way more vertical than when he was an novice. It completely modified the best way his fastball performed with out sacrificing his arm power or the standard of both secondary pitch, and it additionally improved his command, as his line to the plate turned way more direct and comfortable-looking than when he was in school. In a 2024 break up evenly between Low- and Excessive-A, he posted a 36.9% strikeout charge, a 3.7% (!) stroll charge, and a 2.24 ERA throughout 88.1 innings.

Not lengthy after the 2025 High 100 record got here out (Rosario was ranked thirty ninth), the Rangers introduced that he would want elbow surgical procedure, although the precise timing of his harm was left obscure. Months later it was reported that Rosario nonetheless hadn’t had surgical procedure, with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning Information saying the Rangers and Rosario had been “working via some unrelated points.” Business sources indicated to me on the time that he had a separate, non-baseball medical concern that needed to be resolved earlier than his elbow might be addressed. On Thursday whereas discussing the commerce, Toboni mentioned that Rosario will lastly bear Tommy John surgical procedure within the subsequent few weeks. Assuming an ordinary restoration from this level ahead, he’ll be again in early 2027 having missed two complete seasons. The day off clearly creates an amazing diploma of uncertainty about how Rosario will look when he returns, and the mysterious (and understandably personal) nature of the problems that contributed to the delay in his TJ are much more troublesome to account for while you’re attempting to line him up on a prospect record. However his look and efficiency in 2024 — mid-90s warmth and three plus pitches together with a probably elite splitter — reads so much like Trey Yesavage’s scouting report. That is the participant within the deal who I believe has the best particular person ceiling. This yr would have been Rosario’s 40-man platform season, and he’s a reputation to file away for the following Rule 5 Draft if the Nationals select to not roster him after the season.

The third relatively thrilling participant on this commerce is Fitz-Gerald, a switch-hitting shortstop who was signed away from a North Carolina State dedication with a $900,000 bonus in 2024. He crushed the advanced in Arizona for six weeks in 2025 and earned a promotion to Low-A Hickory, the place he damage his shoulder diving for a ball after simply 10 video games. Fitz-Gerald’s true ability as a contact hitter most likely isn’t as stellar as his small pattern contact charge from 2025 — a superb 81% total, 88% within the zone, each means higher than his highschool showcase marks — however he has above-average bat velocity and swings with harmful loft from each side of the plate. He’s solely 5-foot-10, however he’s a reasonably bodily man with visually thrilling athleticism and bat velocity, and his swing is already geared to hit for energy, particularly from the left aspect.

Due to the character of his swing, Fitz-Gerald will seemingly be weak to elevated pitches as he climbs. He has some really feel for getting his fingers to these spots, however he hasn’t confronted something near massive league velocity; he is perhaps thriving as a result of he’s a compact, short-levered man relatively than due to precise really feel to hit. There’s some volatility there, however Fitz-Gerald positively seemed extra like a late first spherical expertise final yr than a late third rounder, the place a $900,000 bonus is the slot quantity. Swap-hitters with this sort of pop from each side of the plate don’t precisely develop on timber — not even in Florida. This can be a potential switch-hitting common at second or third base who shares quite a lot of similarities with Jed Lowrie.

Though Fien, Rosario, and Fitz-Gerald are probably the most gifted gamers within the deal, Ortiz is the one almost certainly to make a giant league affect quickly. The 23-year-old Puerto Rican 1B/RF is coming off a rebound season throughout which he slashed .257/.356/.479 and hit 25 dingers break up between Double- and Triple-A. Although he received’t single-handedly alter the fortunes of the franchise, Ortiz ought to quickly be first rate function participant who can hit within the five- or six- gap in opposition to righties. The trail to taking part in time is clearer at Ortiz’s native first base than in proper discipline (the place his vary is stretched skinny), although it would take one other commerce (of Luis García Jr.) to actually clear the runway for him.

Lastly, Cabrera is a smaller, hard-swinging outfielder who signed for $10,000 in 2022 and had two massive rookie ball power-hitting seasons in 2023 and 2024 earlier than he got here again right down to Earth in 2025 at Low-A Hickory. Cabrera is ready to generate spectacular uncooked energy for his measurement, and his swing was geared for excessive launch in 2023 and 2024 earlier than issues toned down some final yr. The trouble Cabrera swings with continuously leaves him weak to spin. However the man can play middle discipline. He hauls ass into the gaps with reckless abandon and is snug on the catch level. He’s acquired a shot to play a task as a whiff-prone, plus-gloved part-time outfielder in a number of years.

The majority of this return is prone to mature three-ish years from now, particularly the extra gifted prospects who may make a large affect on the large league membership. Even Rosario, whose stuff may play in a aid capability the second he returns, is extra prone to be introduced alongside slowly and constructed again up as a starter over a number of seasons so the Nationals can attempt to maximize his particular person end result.

Whereas the Ferrer-for-Ford commerce was extra in regards to the very close to future, this deal indicators a long-term rebuild technique that entails transferring quite a lot of the present massive league roster over the following couple of minutes. Although the Nationals’ core on the finish of the Mike Rizzo period featured a handful of thrilling younger gamers — Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wooden, and a few of their current excessive draft picks — who may feasibly be a part of the crew’s subsequent aggressive roster if stored round, it seems that the brand new regime doesn’t imagine they’ll be capable to re-sign these guys, and/or doesn’t assume they’ll be capable to construct a greater roster round them shortly sufficient to contend earlier than the majority of that group can depart in free company. Gore’s title was bandied about throughout final yr’s commerce deadline, as was Abrams’. Abrams is below contract via the 2028 season and is perhaps the following massive shoe to drop right here, although the Nationals needn’t be in a rush to maneuver him until they’re blown away. Groups which have lately efficiently ignited long-term rebuilds have typically finished so with trades like this, the place they’re getting three-plus guys again in trade for one participant. Right here the Nationals had been in a position to pry away 5 fairly good prospects.