The Milwaukee Brewers have some questions in the starting rotation for next season. How will they replace Jose Quintana? Will they bring back Brandon Woodruff? Will they hold onto Freddy Peralta in the final year of his contract? Alongside Jacob Misiorowski, which of last season’s rookie starters could feature in the starting staff?
ESPN’s Jeff Passan recommends one “perfect” trade Milwaukee could make to shore up their pitching in 2026.
Would pursuing Gore be worth the cost?
Passan suggests the Brewers target lefty starter MacKenzie Gore. Despite a 5-15 record for the cellar-dwelling Nationals, the former 3rd overall pick is coming off a strong season across the board. His 4.17 ERA doesn’t jump off the page, but his 3.74 FIP and 98 ERA+ suggest that he may have been subject to some bad luck. In 159.2 IP, Gore posted a career-best strikeout rate of 10.4 per nine, amassed a 3.0 WAR, and made his first All-Star team.
Assuming the Brewers don’t re-sign Quintana after declining his player option, Gore could step in as a left-handed replacement, bringing a substantial upgrade in power stuff.
In fact, Gore could improve his performance by relying less on his four-seam fastball, his most hittable pitch last season. Gore threw his four-seamer 49.3% of the time, but his breaking pitches were far more effective. Batters tagged his fastball for a .294 average and .483 slugging percentage. By comparison, his curveball, slider, and cutter held the opposition to a .217 average or lower while slugging .312 or less.
Projected to make $6.5 million in arbitration next year, Gore will remain under contract through the 2027 season. Perhaps his salary is already too high for the Brewers’ liking. As a trade acquisition, he would also require sacrificing some form of prospect capital. Certainly they have the assets, and Gore the potential to be even better than the 3-WAR player he was last season, but the move probably makes more sense for Washington as they continue to rebuild and stockpile prospects.
With a slew of young arms clamoring for innings, the Brewers might be better served looking for another cheap free-agent signee, a la Quintana last offseason, than investing dollars and player capital in an arm of MacKenzie’s caliber.
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John Sbisa covers the Bucks, Brewers, and Packers for Wisconsin Sports Heroics and is a senior contributor for Behind the Buck Pass at FanSided. An English grad from the University of Michigan, he approaches content creation with a focus on combining public narratives and analytics.
