The hot stove can be a cruel place, and General Manager Brian Cashman just felt the sting. After days of speculation, the Yankees watched their primary pitching target, Edward Cabrera, slip away to the Chicago Cubs.
The Yankees whiffing hard on Edward Cabrera just opened up a major problem for the rotation, forcing the front office to scramble for a Plan B. However, that pivot might just lead them to a more sustainable, high-upside option in Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore.
It turns out, this pivot isn’t just hypothetical—it’s already on the radar. Per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic: “The Yankees have had previous discussions with Washington regarding Gore’s availability, according to league sources.”
While Cabrera offered “video game” stuff with significant injury risk, Gore offers a profile that is arguably more attractive to the Yankees’ analytics department: elite extension, high whiff rates, and the kind of raw clay that pitching coach Matt Blake turns into gold.
Buying the “Whiff” and Fixing the Contact
On the surface, Gore’s 2025 campaign looks pedestrian. He posted a 5-15 record with a 4.17 ERA over 30 starts. But the Yankees don’t pay for ERA; they pay for underlying metrics, and Gore’s are screaming “breakout.”
The 26-year-old ranked in the 80th percentile for Whiff% (29.7%) and the 80th percentile for Strikeout% (27.2%) last season. He struck out 185 batters in 159.2 innings, proving he has the stuff to miss bats at an elite level.
Where he fits the “Yankee Mold” perfectly is his extension. Gore ranks in the 86th percentile for extension (6.9 ft), which makes his 95.3 mph fastball jump on hitters much quicker than the radar gun suggests. This trait is highly coveted by the Yankees, as it naturally increases perceived velocity and disrupts hitter timing.
Matt Blake’s New Project: Unleashing the Slider
If acquired, Matt Blake’s first task will be optimizing Gore’s pitch mix. Last season, Gore relied heavily on his four-seam fastball (49.3% usage), which was hit reasonably hard (.294 BA against).
However, his breaking balls were virtually unhittable:
- Slider: .195 batting average against with a staggering 40.5% Whiff Rate.
- Curveball: .217 batting average against with a 35.7% Whiff Rate.
Despite the dominance of his slider, he threw it just 11.8% of the time. The blueprint for Blake is clear: increase the usage of the breaking stuff (ranked in the 79th percentile for Breaking Run Value) and reduce the reliance on the fastball in hitter-friendly counts.
Control and Context: Why Handedness Doesn’t Matter
Critics might point out that the Yankees already have a lefty-heavy rotation with Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. But when you are looking for impact arms, talent trumps handedness every time.
More importantly, the Yankees need reliability.
With concerns that the Yankees might be disappointed by Gerrit Cole in 2026 as he returns from injury, adding a young arm who has made 30+ starts in back-to-back seasons (32 in 2024, 30 in 2025) provides essential stability.
Furthermore, Gore comes with multiple years of team control, aligning perfectly with the Yankees’ desire to balance their payroll. He isn’t just a rental; he is a long-term piece who can grow alongside the rotation’s core. While losing out on Cabrera stung, trading for Gore might be the smarter, more sustainable move that pays dividends in October.
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