Tracking the offseason MLB trades and signings with fantasy baseball implications for the upcoming season, Eric Karabell and Tristan H. Cockcroft will analyze and provide an outlook for all of the key players involved.
While players were allowed to sign with new teams as early as Thursday Nov. 6, things typically start to heat up at the league's annual winter meetings in Orlando, taking place Dec. 7-10.
Some of the top players who could end up with new teams for 2026 include J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Framber Valdez and Kenley Jansen.
As the contracts get signed, this is the place to find all of the fantasy fallout of those deals, so be sure to check back throughout the "hot stove" season for updates.
Note: Not every transaction warrants the attention of fantasy managers, but for those signings and trades that do merit analysis, you'll find them listed below. Players will be separated by position and then listed in chronological order of the move within each positional grouping, with the latest news coming first. Also included are links to any standalone analysis stories and/or videos regarding major free agent signings and trades. Players who end up re-signing with their previous team will not always be included.
Jump to:
Catcher | First base | Second base | Shortstop | Third base
Outfield | DH | Starting pitcher | Relief pitcher
Catcher
Players we're watching: J.T. Realmuto, Mitch Garver, Christian Vazquez
First base
Josh Naylor re-signs with the Mariners: Among the more unexpected statistical outcomes of 2025 was Naylor's 30 stolen bases, a total propped up by the 19 he swiped in 54 games following his July trade from the Diamondbacks. With the speedy finish, Naylor finished 16th overall on the Player Rater, his production in the stolen base category making him especially valuable in leagues that use rotisserie scoring. He'd also finish 36th in fantasy points, still an outstanding outcome.
Back in Seattle for the next five seasons, Naylor's rotisserie value is less likely to regress than it might have almost anywhere else. Under manager Dan Wilson, the Mariners were one of the most aggressive teams on the basepaths in baseball, attempting steals on a third most-frequent 8.7% of their opportunities for the season, and a second-most 10.0% from the date of Naylor's Mariners debut (July 25) forward. Though he lacks top-shelf raw speed, Naylor has been successful on 85.9% of his career stolen base attempts, a facet of his game that Wilson should surely continue to exploit.
Maybe Safeco Field's pitcher-friendly nature will keep Naylor's home run output closer to the 20-HR number he had in 2025 than the 30 he hit in 2024, but he's much more likely to steal 20 bases in Seattle than the 7.3 he averaged from 2022-24. He'll once again be a top-10 fantasy first baseman and a near top-50 player overall, similarly valued to fellow first baseman Freddie Freeman. -- Cockcroft (11/17)
Players we're watching: Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Rhys Hoskins
Second base
Mets acquire Marcus Semien from Rangers: Semien comes off arguably the worst season of his long career, posting a .669 OPS and delivering only 32 extra-base hits. While he was one of the most durable players in the sport for years, he missed 35 games in 2025, most with a late-season foot injury, when many fantasy managers had already moved on. As recently as 2023, Semien was a building block fantasy option.
Now entering his age-36 season, Semien continues to see his hard-hit rate and exit velocity figures head in the wrong direction. While leaving the pitcher's haven of Globe Life Field for anywhere else feels like an important upgrade, it's not like Citi Field is Coors Field, either. These ballparks were similar for right-handed power in 2025. Semien finished outside the top 20 second basemen in ESPN points, and he was No. 28 at the position on the (roto/categories) Player Rater. While it is possible Semien, who still runs well and defends, bounces back somewhat at the plate, he is far from a top 100 pick on draft day. -- Karabell (11/23)
Players we're watching: Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco, Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Shortstop
Players we're watching: Ha-Seong Kim, Bo Bichette, Luis Rengifo, Willi Castro
Third base
Players we're watching: Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez, Justin Turner, Yoan Moncada, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto
Outfield
Cedric Mullins signs with Rays: Mullins may seem like someone fantasy managers can ignore, since he hit just .216 for the Orioles and Mets last season and hasn't hit above .235 since 2022, but the power/speed combination remains interesting in deeper formats. Don't expect another 30-HR, 30-SB season like in 2021, but Mullins has hit at least 15 homers and stolen at least 19 bases in each year since then. That matters, more in roto/categories leagues, and it offsets the low batting average.
Mullins struggled for the Mets after last summer's trade, hitting a sad .182 in 42 games, but he gets a new start in Tampa, presumably as a platoon option, because the Rays dabble in that sort of thing. That may help Mullins in batting average while costing him plate appearances. Regardless, expect relevant home runs and stolen bases, which is not bad for a final outfielder. Mullins is going just outside the top 75 outfielders and top 300 players in NFBC ADP. At 31, he is hardly too old to bounce back a bit. -- Karabell (12/4)
Rangers acquire Brandon Nimmo from Mets: Nimmo has been a reliable fantasy outfielder for four seasons, and he comes off a career-best 25 home runs in 2025. The problem, at least in points formats, is his reliable double-digit walk rate cratered to 7.7%. Still, Nimmo should hit near the top of the Texas lineup and ostensibly replace the departed Adolis Garcia, a very different player.
Nimmo hasn't been a terrific source of on-base percentage over the past two seasons, but he still finished 2025 as the No. 20 outfielder on points formats, and there is room for improvement. Switching to pitcher-friendly Globe Life Park may not affect him as much as it would most, if he can rediscover his excellent plate discipline, continue hitting for modest power and play in more than 150 games for the fifth consecutive campaign. This isn't a top 100 player on draft day, but a fine, reliable, mid-round choice. -- Karabell (11/23)
Orioles acquire Taylor Ward from Angels: In 2025, the Orioles hit 44 fewer home runs than the year prior and nobody reached 20, so the franchise coveted power, especially from the right side. Ward helps the offense (though at the high cost of younger, controllable, albeit brittle RHP Grayson Rodriguez), achieving a career-high (easily) 36 blasts this past season, and he also drew 75 walks. Only five hitters reached the combination of both those figures, and only 13 outfielders (39 hitters) scored more fantasy points.
It took several years, but Ward has finally delivered consecutive seasons with power, plate discipline and durability. His 2026 season will be his last before free agency, which is quite the motivating factor and probably a key reason the Angels made him expendable. While the change in home ballpark may not help, a better lineup around Ward, with SS Gunnar Henderson expected to bounce back offensively, may offset it. Expect another solid power/walk season from Ward, who has been going around the 17th round of early National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) drafts. -- Karabell (11/19)
Players we're watching: Cody Bellinger, Kyle Schwarber, Starling Marte, Kyle Tucker
Designated hitter
Players we're watching: Marcell Ozuna, Josh Bell, Andrew McCutchen
Starting pitcher
Cody Ponce signs with Blue Jays The three years and $30 million he received from the Blue Jays might throw fantasy managers for a loop, being that the last time we saw Ponce pitch in the States, he accrued a 5.75 ERA in five starts and a 5.91 ERA in 15 relief appearances in 2020-21 working in a pitcher-friendly home for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, this isn't the same pitcher we saw back then... and it isn't close.
Ponce, who worked three years in Japan (2022-24), flourished in a move to the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) last season, winning the league's MVP and Choi Dong-won Award (the equivalent to the U.S. Cy Young) thanks to his 17-1 record, 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 180⅔ innings across 29 starts.
Ponce is a very different pitcher today than he was that half-decade ago, now reaching the upper 90s with his four-seam fastball -- he averaged 93.2 mph with it in 2020-21. He has also added a kick-change, the pitch that generated much excitement surrounding Clay Holmes when he began using it following his signing with the New York Mets last winter.
Ponce is not the first pitcher to remake himself overseas, with Merrill Kelly being one of the more prominent success stories among pitchers who returned from the KBO. Many accounts suggest the KBO is comparable in competition level to Double-A ball, so expect an adjustment period for Ponce, as was the case for Kelly. Still, Ponce's hefty workload overseas and the fit make him one of the better pitchers to stash in the later rounds of a 23-man, 12-team mixed draft. If he looks good during spring training, he could be on the ESPN standard radar, too. -- Cockcroft (12/3)
Dylan Cease signs with Blue Jays: Cease is one of the more durable strikeout options in the majors, having made 32 or more starts and surpassed 200 strikeouts in five consecutive seasons, and there is little reason to believe those streaks end with the Blue Jays, a team featuring a strong defense. The problem, of course, is that Cease isn't always so consistent with his run prevention. For example, his ERA for the 2025 Padres was 4.55, and it came with a 1.33 WHIP. His final season with the White Sox, in 2023, featured a 4.58 ERA and an elevated 1.42 WHIP. His other seasons have been better. Frankly, it is anyone's guess whether Cease will deliver a 3.50 or 4.50 ERA in 2026, or any season.
Cease, who relies mostly on a 97 mph fastball and power slider, finished among the top 20 in earned runs allowed and top 10 in walks permitted, but he still ended up as the No. 36 starting pitcher via ESPN scoring, thanks to volume. We can depend on his volume, and that's why the Blue Jays are paying him more than $200 million. Cease was the No. 85 starting pitcher on the roto/categories Player Rater, which isn't as attractive. He was among the top 25 hurlers the year prior. Regardless, Cease is going in the top 100 of NFBC average draft position, and just outside the top 20 starting pitchers, as fantasy managers like procuring 32 starts and more than 200 whiffs. Hopefully his ERA and WHIP can be a bit more presentable as well. -- Karabell (11/26)
Red Sox acquire Sonny Gray from Cardinals: Gray, 36, finished 25th in fantasy points among starting pitchers in 2025, winning 14 games and striking out more than 200 hitters, each for the third time in his long career. He has been a reliable fantasy option (although rarely a star) for more than a decade. He now joins his sixth franchise and should slot in safely in the middle of the Boston rotation.
There were, however, a few areas of concern in 2025. Gray's fastball velocity slipped a bit and he posted a 5.45 ERA after the All-Star break, with 15 home runs permitted, albeit with a higher strikeout rate. Gray has had streaks like that before and performed capably the following season. He is currently going at around pick No. 139 in early NFBC ADP, making him a top-50 hurler for 2026. -- Karabell (11/25)
Angels acquire Grayson Rodriguez from Orioles: Rodriguez, once one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, last started an MLB game on the final day of July 2024, with a lat strain ending that season and elbow issues keeping him out all of 2025. Rodriguez, 26, gets a new start with the Angels in a rotation that needed right-handed help.
With a 4.11 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in his 43 career starts (albeit with a healthy strikeout rate), there's no guarantee that Rodriguez fulfills the promise the Orioles and so many fantasy managers once had for him, but it feels worth the risk for the Angels. Rodriguez has been a relative afterthought in early NFBC ADP, going outside the top-300 picks. If healthy, he feels like he might be worth that disappointing ADP. -- Karabell (11/19)
Players we're watching: Framber Valdez, Lucas Giolito, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zac Gallen, Zach Eflin, Ranger Suarez, Chris Bassitt, Tatsuya Imai
Relief pitcher
Devin Williams signs with Mets: With Edwin Diaz, their closer for six of the past seven seasons (he missed all of 2023 following knee surgery) opting out of the remaining two years of his five-year, $102 million contract, the Mets were in search for a ninth-inning option this winter. Diaz might still re-sign with the team, leaving some fluidity in the role, but Williams gives the Mets a proven closer option in the event they don't invest in a similarly accomplished reliever.
Williams' 2025 was easily the worst of his career, with a 4.79 ERA, four blown saves (matching his 2023 total) and a minus-0.1 WAR. While with the crosstown Yankees, he lost his closer role twice -- once after he surrendered three-plus runs on three occasions in April and then again after the team bolstered its bullpen at the trade deadline and he gave up runs across five consecutive appearances at the end of July/beginning of August. If "wilting under the New York spotlight" was a factor, Williams' decision to sign across town with the Mets is a curious choice.
That said, Williams totaled nine scoreless appearances in setup relief to conclude the regular season, then an additional four combined between the wild card and division series, flashing a much-improved changeup and quelling questions about the pressures of the Big Apple. If he indeed emerges as the Mets' closer -- and three years and $51 million of guaranteed money says it's a better-than-even chance that he will -- Williams could be one of the best bounce-back candidates at his position and a prospective top-10 positional ADP choice who could again contend for the top spot in scoring. Citi Field, after all, will represent (by far) the most pitcher-friendly venue he has called his home to date. -- Cockcroft (12/2)
Ryan Helsley signs with Orioles: Helsley gets a two-year contract with a player opt-out after the first season, so his 2026 performance will dictate his future. We know Helsley is capable of great things. He posted a 1.25 ERA with a 39% strikeout rate in 2022 and a 2.04 ERA with 49 saves in 2024. The Cardinals made it clear that Helsley was "trade bait" last season and, after he saved 21 games for them with a 3.00 ERA, he went to the Mets. There, he struggled mightily, posting a 7.20 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP over 20 innings, with nary a save.
Helsley, 31, believes his problems as a Met were due to tipping pitches, pitch sequencing and just plain old bad luck. This contract proves that the Orioles weren't too concerned, either. The stuff was there. Felix Bautista (shoulder) will not pitch in 2026, leaving Helsley (who still hits 100 mph with regularity) with the closer role. While his strikeout rate has headed in the wrong direction in recent seasons, it's still a good rate. He should bounce back. Helsley may not be quite a top-10 relief pitcher on draft day, but his upside surely makes him worthy of inclusion in that tier. -- Karabell (11/29)
Players we're watching: Edwin Diaz, Kirby Yates, Kenley Jansen