Padres tried to right a wrong by targeting former top prospect at deadline

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the San Diego Padres under A.J. Preller, it’s that they’re never afraid to get aggressive, especially at the trade deadline. And in 2025, they once again lived up to that reputation. But among the chaos of blockbuster acquisitions and roster overhauls, one fascinating revelation from Jon Heyman of the New York Post flew a bit under the radar: the Padres reportedly tried to reacquire one of their most prized former prospects, left-hander MacKenzie Gore.

The Padres originally selected Gore with the third overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, tabbing him as the future ace of the franchise. He debuted in 2022 and showed flashes of why he was once considered the best pitching prospect in all of baseball. But that same season, he became a casualty of Preller’s biggest gamble, part of the monster trade package sent to the Nationals for superstar Juan Soto.

San Diego’s deadline target was a familiar face with unfinished business

That deal will go down as one of the more seismic in recent deadline history. The Nats walked away with a loaded haul including MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, and Jarlin Susana. Fast forward to today, and three of those names in Gore, Abrams, and Wood, are already major contributors in Washington. The other two are still rising in the system. It’s no stretch to say the Nationals won that deal on long-term value alone.

Gore in particular has been solid in 2025. While his 4-11 record may not jump off the page, that has more to do with run support than performance. The 25-year-old has posted a 3.80 ERA across 22 starts with 148 strikeouts in 123 innings — numbers that plenty of contenders would kill to slot into the middle of their rotation. With multiple years of team control remaining and the Nationals well out of the playoff hunt, Gore became a prime trade candidate. And it turns out, his old team wanted back in.

From the Padres’ perspective, this wasn’t just a routine pitching inquiry, it was a chance to right a wrong. San Diego’s farm system still hasn’t fully recovered from the Soto deal, and they’ve felt the sting of seeing their homegrown talent flourish elsewhere. Gore was supposed to be their guy. He was supposed to be the ace of a rotation, not the one that got away. Preller, never shy to circle back on past decisions, seemed eager to correct the course.

There’s no indication of how close a reunion actually came to happening. Details of the talks haven’t fully surfaced, and Washington, to their credit, had little reason to rush a deal unless overwhelmed. But even the idea of the Padres trying to bring Gore back signals something larger, maybe an acknowledgment, however subtle, that they may have sacrificed a bit too much in chasing the dream.

That dream, of course, was a World Series. They didn’t get it with Soto. And now, as they try to continue that chase, the idea of reuniting with Gore doesn’t just make baseball sense, it’s almost poetic.

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