The Texas Rangers will be counting on MacKenzie Gore’s pitching in 2026.
New Rangers manager Skip Schumaker and pitching coach Jordan Tiegs have to like how their starting rotation is developing for the upcoming season. Texas’ starting pitching in 2026 was always going to be anchored by Jacob deGrom, last season’s American League Comeback Player of the Year Award winner, and Nathan Eovaldi. It’s who would be filling out the next three spots in the rotation that was a guessing game.
Not so much anymore. Jack Leiter, 25, remains a work in progress. Drafted in the first round by the Rangers in 2021 (second overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft), Leiter is still trying to put together his first, full MLB season with the Rangers. In 29 starts last season, Leiter went 10–10 and posted a tolerable 3.86 ERA.
Spring training performances should answer that question of whether Leiter will slide into the third spot in the Rangers’ rotation or if Gore better fits there. Kumar Rocker, likely to be in the rotation’s back end, in being pegged as the No. 5 starter. Rocker, 26, appeared in only 14 games in 2025, and threw just 64.1 innings. Rocker is recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2023, and right shoulder issues coming out of camp last March, and Schumaker and Tiegs are hoping for him to have a strong presence throughout 2026.
The Rangers are displaying a strong commitment to win in 2026 with the acquisition of Gore from the Washington Nationals this past week. Just three seasons back, the Rangers captured the World Series championship. That was followed by two mediocre seasons, including an 81–81 finish in 2025—nine games behind American League West leader Seattle Mariners.
Chris Young, Texas’ president of baseball operations, rolled the proverbial dice in making the deal for Gore. When a club parts with five players, including their top 2025 draft pick (18-year-old shortstop Gavin Fein), for one pitcher, management has to have done their research to the point that they are as sure as can be that the deal will work in their favor.
Bottom line, when evaluating Gore’s career, the Rangers feel they can be the team to help him reach his potential. Ironically, just as Gore is now the centerpiece of a major swap between the Nationals and the Rangers, in August 2022, he was an integral piece in an eight-player swap between the San Diego Padres and Washington.
The Nationals packaged that deal with San Diego with the understanding that the club wasn’t able to sign Juan Soto to a contract extension, and his desire to later test the free agency market after the 2024 season. Soto and first baseman Josh Bell were shipped to the Padres in exchange for six players, with Gore, James Wood, and C.J. Abrams (all prospects at the time) being the prizes of the trade for the Nationals.
Gore, the Nationals’ lone representative at last season’s MLB All-Star Game, will be eligible for free agency after the 2027 season. Last season, at 5–15 with a 4.17 ERA in 30 starts, Gore didn’t live up to the Nationals’ expectations, and most likely his own. But, ringing up 185 strikeouts in 159 2/3 innings is the achievement that Texas is hoping to develop his overall repertoire around. Figuring out the real pitcher that Gore is may take a few starts coming out of spring training.
Looking at his 2025 season shows that in the first half, Gore went 4–8 with a 3.02 ERA. However, in the second half of the season, it was as if Gore was a different pitcher. His 1–7 record and 6.75 ERA during 11 games was a continual mystery.
The opportunity to develop Gore in their system was too enticing for Ross Fenstermaker, Texas’ general manager, Chris Young, the club’s president of baseball operations, and Schumaker to pass on. When Rangers’ training camp opens in Surprise, Arizona, on Feb. 11, helping Gore achieve more consistency will be front and center.
He'll also have a new pitching coach. Gone from 2025 is Mike Maddux, who accepted a pitching coach assignment with the Los Angeles Angels. Tiegs, who served as Texas’ bullpen coach last season, has been promoted to pitching coach.
No doubt, there will be a learning curve between Tiegs and Gore. Improving the team’s and Gore’s individual accomplishments from 2025 is a shared goal. Gore is said to have experienced some shoulder weakness in last season’s second half. With that behind him, and the Rangers’ medical staff and coaching personnel developing plans to keep him strong throughout the upcoming season, Gore will have every opportunity to compete at a level that would significantly impact the club’s ability to return to the postseason.
Glimpses of his superstar potential from his days with the Nationals are making the Rangers’ and their fans excited about Gore’s future with them.
