Royals Still Interested In Jarren Duran, But Also Showing Interest In Nationals' CJ Abrams & MacKenzie Gore

The Royals are still looking to be active in the trade market, and two new names have been added to their interest list, writes Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Royals have been linked to the Red Sox's Jarren Duran for months, but are now apparently interested in the Nationals' infielder CJ Abrams and, more surprisingly, their young starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore.

To read about potential matchups in a trade for Jarren Duran, click here to read our in-depth piece on scenarios.

MacKenzie Gore: The 26-year-old left-hander is arbitration-eligible, with club control through 2028. In 2024, he made 32 starts and logged 166 1/3 innings with a 24.8% K%, 8.9% BB%, 3.53 FIP, and 3.2 fWAR. In 2025, he started 30 games and threw 159 2/3 innings with a 27.2% K%, 9.4% BB%, 3.74 FIP, and 2.9 fWAR. 

CJ Abrams: Abrams is 25 and arbitration-eligible, also with club control through 2028. In 2024, he logged 602 plate appearances with 20 homers, 31 steals, a .246/.314/.433 line, .322 wOBA, 106 wRC+, and 1.9 fWAR, plus -18 OAA at shortstop. He's brutal defensively at short, which makes a position switch likely. In 2025, he reached 635 plate appearances with 19 homers, 31 steals, .257/.315/.433, .324 wOBA, 107 wRC+, 3.1 fWAR, and -11 OAA, with a 5.8% BB% and 19.7% K%.