MacKenzie Gore could be the perfect move for Cubs

Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

As good as this team was last season, especially on the pitching side, they still have one glaring weakness. That weakness stems from the starting rotation, as the Cubs don't have what you call a quote-on-quote Ace. Matthew Boyd started the season looking like an Ace, but is seen more as a number four starter, with Justin Steele the de facto ace, who is also more of a middle-of-the-rotation arm.

From all accounts, Cade Horton has all the tools to become an ace himself, but given his lack of experience and prior injury history, the Cubs may wait to put that type of pressure on him. Until the Cubs can land an ace, no one is going to consider them a real threat to dethrone the Dodgers, which should be everyone's goal at this point.

Guys like Michael King and Tatsuya Imai are the main targets linked to the Cubs, as either one of them would make this rotation instantly better. However, given the Cubs' lack of spending and unwillingness to give pitchers a long-term deal, adding a guy like that may not be as easy as some would think.

That is where the trade market comes into play, as plenty of big names are available. Depending on which report you look at, some say the Cubs are players for some of the big names, while others don't expect them to do much of anything now that Shota Imanaga has been retained. That would be an epic failure not to make a move due to the Imanaga deal, and that alone is why spending money on a starter may not happen.

In what is becoming the most likely scenario, the Cubs are most likely going to add to their rotation through the trade market, and if they were to make a play for MacKenzie Gore, it would be the first time in a decade that this organization is putting all its chips on the middle of the table. Gore is not only a lefty that the Cubs love, but he is an Ace, and the Cubs found out firsthand how good he can be.

The 26-year-old was a first-round pick by the Padres in 2017 and was acquired as part of the Juan Soto trade that sent the left-hander to the Padres. After starting his career 4-4 with the Padres, Gore has had his issues in Washington, going just 22-37 with a 4.16 ERA. Not all of the struggles were his fault, as this season was the prime example, with Gore finishing 5-15 despite posting a 4.07 ERA.

He fell off toward the end of the season, as he was hovering around 3.40 most of the year, before a few bad starts at the end of the season pushed his ERA to where it was. What makes Gore such a valuable asset is that he is a workhorse, starting at least 27 games in each of the past three seasons.

Along with that comes his ability to go deep into games, though that did wane a bit this season. Still, Gore has proven time and again what he can do as a starter, as he ranked near the top of the league in strikeouts per nine innings, which goes to show the type of stuff he can throw at you.

Not your typical flame thrower that a lot of teams look at, Gore still sits in the 94-96 MPH range, which is all you can ask for from your starter. With that comes his ability to change hitters' eye levels with location, and his ability to mix speeds at any point in the count, keeping his opponents guessing from one pitch to the next.

Of all the deals discussed with the Cubs dating back to last season, this one was the closest to getting done up until the Nationals wanted basically all the Cubs' top five prospects. That is far too much to pay for someone, and given how he ended the season, his stock isn't nearly as high as it once was, even if that still means that Caissie or Ballesteros is on their way.

Not only is his age (26) a huge plus for the Cubs, but so are his multiple years of control, as Chicago would have him to co-anchor their rotation beyond this season. Perhaps most importantly to this team, Gore's dollar figure is the one that matters most, as He is expected to make $4.7 million in 2026, far less than he should be making.