(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

MacKenzie Gore #1 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning in game two of a split doubleheader at Nationals Park on September 16, 2025 in Washington, DC.

The Red Sox will enter the 2025-26 MLB offseason riding some momentum after breaking through with a playoff spot this season, boasting a roster that is heavy on young potential stars and a farm system that has begun–and should continue–paying dividends at the major-league level.

Fans, of course, want the Red Sox to be aggressive this winter, and at the very least, the expectation is that they will add another bat, find a legitimate No. 2 pitcher to pair with Garrett Crochet and, the hope is, re-sign third baseman Alex Bregman. Check those three boxes and Boston will be well-suited to contend in 2026.

But simply landing a No. 2 starter is not quite so easy as it may sound. There will be plenty of candidates, and the Red Sox would like to pull off the feat without giving up both of their top pitching prospects, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early. The team made a terrific move to add Crochet last winter, and they need to match it this time around.

Red Sox Could Pursue MacKenzie Gore

A realistic candidate could be MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals, an All-Star this season who is heading into free agency next season. The fact that the Nationals are now run by former Red Sox exec Paul Toboni should help grease the wheels of a deal, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden wrote for The Athletic.

Gore is 26, and was 5-15 for an awful Washington team last season. He had an ERA of 4.17 and a WHIP of 1.353, throwing into question his credentials as No. 2.

MacKenzie Gore Struggled in the 2nd Half  of 2025

But Bowden writes: “Toboni’s old team, the Red Sox, seem like a good place to start. He’s so familiar with Boston’s prospect cabinet that I’m sure he’d find a strong return even if he can’t land the team’s very best prospects in a trade.

“Gore made his first All-Star team this year thanks to a dominant first half where he posted a 3.02 ERA over his 19 starts with 138 punchouts in 110 1/3 innings. He slumped in the second half, posting a 6.75 ERA over his final 11 starts, though pitching for a last-place team isn’t the easiest thing to do over the course of a full season.”

Red Sox Could Land a Top Pitcher

Bowden linked the Red Sox to multiple trade candidates as the start of the offseason approaches. Among them is arguably the best starter in the American League (if not Crochet), Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, and two other top-shelf candidates, Freddy Peralta of the Brewers and Hunter Greene of the Reds.

Those are longshots. They’d cost the Red Sox considerably in terms of prospects, and there would be the hefty contracts that Skubal and Peralta would require before 2026 free agency. Greene is signed through 2029, at $61 million total.

Bowden also lists Sandy Alcantara, but he has gone 18-24 with a 4.73 ERA in his last three seasons, which includes missing 2024 because of Tommy John surgery. As for Craig Breslow favorite Joe Ryan of the Twins, he did not land on Bowden’s list of top trade candidates.

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney

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