He was the untouchable one, MacKenzie Gore. The left-handed pitcher was long considered the top prospect in the Padres organization. He was off limits, lap after lap — protected in trade chatter like the main vault at Fort Knox.
Gore, at 23, finally seemed to be coming into his own with the team that scooped him up at No. 3 overall in the 2017 draft. He had sidestepped nagging control issues, as well as San Diego's most loathed blister.
In the first nine games of this season, Gore seemed a near-certain contender for NL Rookie of the Year with a 1.50 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 48 innings. This, the Padres thought, was the intersection of patience and production that would make all that time and tinkering worth it.
Later, the velocity began to dip and the wrong numbers began to rise.
No time to panic, manager Bob Melvin said. Surgery would not be needed for what he termed a "low-grade strain" in the elbow. Roots planted in 2022's early days still sowed plenty of promise.
Then came a week ago, on the morning of baseball's trade deadline. Gore came in early before a doubleheader to log rehab work. A clubhouse TV caught his eye. He saw his name.
"It's kind of the same for everybody in here," Gore said Monday in the visiting clubhouse occupied by the Nationals at Wrigley Field. "Shocking."
Players began flying back and forth in what many think is the biggest deadline deal in history.
The Padres landed superstar Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell, while the Nationals' haul included Gore, big-league DH Luke Voit, shortstop CJ Abrams and pitcher Jarlin Susana, along with a pair of highly rated Single-A outfielders, Robert Hassell III and James Wood.
"I started getting texts, so I texted (President of Baseball Operations) A.J. (Preller)," Gore outlined. "He called me. A.J. felt like he had to make a move to make the team better. He invested a lot of time in me and I cared about him, too.
"You never think it's going to happen, then it did."
Gore continued to mentally sort the shift of the franchises' tectonic plates as the Nationals prepared to open a series against the Cubs.
"It was a tough week, to be honest," said Gore, who remains on the injured list but plans to begin playing catch Friday. "I just really love and care about that organization. It was family. That was probably the roughest part."
The business of big-time baseball spares few.
"I'm still in the big leagues," Gore said. "But I just really cared about all those guys and the people in that organization."
Gore clawed for his big-league breakthrough, motivated on at least two fronts. He wanted to prove he belonged, especially as the arrival clock ticked on. He also hoped to reward the fans as much as the franchise.
Investment in the player and his potential extended in all directions.
"They stuck with me through the good and the bad," he said. "Struggled at times, but finally cracked it. I really just loved that place, everything about it."
The Padres' tightly knit rotation created a living, breathing classroom and comfort level that can be unique in a big-league clubhouse. Gore could pick the brains of Cy Young winner Blake Snell, two-time runner-up Yu Darvish and veterans Mike Clevinger and Sean Manaea.
No pain, however, matched the separation from mentor Joe Musgrove.
"He signed the ($100 million) extension," Gore said. "It kind of felt like we were going to be teammates for a long time. You know, me and Joe talked about a lot of things. We're also very similar in the way we go about our business. Joe's awesome."
For so long, Gore personified the Padres' future. He was the big arm and even bigger beacon on the hill. Then came Soto, a player so jaw-dropping that the ironclad rules of yesterday suddenly became flexible — prying loose all kinds of foundational timber.
Prospects the franchise bear-hugged became the price of going all in.
"If you want to get the guy they got, you're going to have to give up a lot of good players," Gore reasoned. "That's part of the game. I've got a job to do here now."
Rehab work remains the priority for Gore, albeit in a different uniform and time zone.
"I feel good," he said. "We're getting close."
Seeing his name on that clubhouse TV in San Diego still feels fresh.
"At that time, you hope it's one of those TV things (that might be wrong)," Gore said. "A little weird. But with social media these days and how these things leak, that's how a lot of guys find out."
That's not all Gore found out.
In baseball, you're untouchable … until you're not.
