The Philadelphia Phillies face a lot of good competition within the NL East division. There are a lot of great rosters, especially in the pitching department. With left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore's trade to the Texas Rangers, there's one less problem for the Phillies.
Gore was traded from the Washington Nationals to the Rangers last Thursday, taking him out of the NL picture. He was the Nationals ace, a valuable asset and a top trade target this offseason, but there wasn't much buzz leading up to his departure.
Gore is a special talent who has the makeup to remain one of the best left-handed pitchers in MLB. He certainly gave the Phillies issues over his career, and that includes 2025 Opening Day when he pitched six innings, allowed one hit, no runs, and struck out 13 batters.
Phillies fans won't be sad to say goodbye to MacKenzie Gore's big stuff from the NL East
Gore was nasty that day, and much of 2025, and his underlying stats prove that he can sustain that success, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. According to Langs, Gore led all MLB starting pitchers in 2025 with the most pitch types (four) with a 35 percent or higher whiff rate (minimum of 50 swings at each).
In his arsenal, Gore not only has a changeup, cutter, slider, and curveball, but he's also able to use them as put-away pitches. His four-seam fastball is the only pitch he's not blowing past batters, sporting a 20.7 percent whiff rate.
It's also another reason why Gore finished in the 80th percentile in 2025 with a 29.7 percent overall whiff rate last season. Here are his whiff rates on his top four pitches:
Pitch | Whiff Rate |
|---|---|
Changeup | 47.2% |
Cutter | 40.9% |
Slider | 40.5% |
Curveball | 35.7% |
Most pitch types with a whiff rate of 35% or higher, SP, 2025 (Min. 50 swings on each):
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) January 22, 2026
MacKenzie Gore: 4
Jacob deGrom: 3
Zack Wheeler: 3
Blake Snell: 3
Jesús Luzardo: 3
José Soriano: 3
h/t @HarriganMLB https://t.co/Owsjs3GM1t pic.twitter.com/R2q1KDq0as
Gore originally arrived in the NL East in the trade package that sent superstar outfielder Juan Soto from Washington to the San Diego Padres. He has played most of his games in D.C. and has spent the last three seasons giving the Phillies fits.
In five career starts against the Phillies, he has a 0-1 record, with a 3.03 ERA, and 41 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. Gore also finished the 2025 season 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 159 2/3 innings, making his first All-Star team in the process.
Gore is a good young talent in today's game. He's got some elite-level stuff on his pitches but has trouble with command at times. He has led the majors in wild pitches each of the last two seasons, with 14 in 2024 and 12 in 2025.
When Gore is "on" however, he's an obstacle to overcome. Luckily for the Phillies, he's not their problem to solve anymore.