Tristan H. Cockcroft and Eric KarabellJan 16, 2026, 12:48 PM ET
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 Nov. 6, things really started to heat up at the league’s annual winter meetings in Orlando, Florida, which took place Dec. 7-10. Expect more news of trades and signings now that the calendar has turned to 2026.
Many top free agent options have already found new teams. However, there are still a few outstanding names who may yet end up with new teams, like J.T. Realmuto and Framber Valdez.
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.
Jump to: Catcher | First base | Second base | Shortstop | Third base Outfield | DH | Starting pitcher | Relief pitcher
Bell, who signed a one-year deal and seems a candidate for another midseason trade to a contender — it wouldn’t be his first — is likely to remain a free agent in ESPN’s shallow formats. However, in deeper, more traditional leagues, he has a role as a late-round pick, as his consistency has value. Bell is going in a similar range in NFBC ADP to Jeff McNeil, Nathaniel Lowe and Mike Yastrzemski, outside the overall top 400. — Karabell (12/15)
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.
The Rockies, too, are almost certain to play him regularly (OF/2B/3B/SS?) and volume is a major driving factor in his fantasy value. This isn’t to say that Castro warrants a hearty investment in drafts, as he’d be a league-average regular (if not beneath that) playing at sea level, but he has landed in perhaps the singularly most-relevant city for a player with his skill set. — Cockcroft (1/16)
He is going just inside the top 250 of NFBC ADP, so perhaps he goes undrafted in ESPN formats, but there should be more interest in a switch-hitting, 2B-eligible option coming off a 26-HR season who should earn eligibility at a second infield spot quite quickly in 2026. — Karabell (12/14)
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.
A shortstop until the most recent playoffs, when he handled second base, Bichette figures to make his debut at third base for the Mets, although the team’s DH role is also in play considering the plight of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Jorge Polanco. Bichette’s most important role will be at the plate, of course, where he earns a coveted lineup spot near the top of the order, likely to be either directly ahead of or immediately following OF Juan Soto, an OBP star. That will be a prime spot.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks had already indicated longtime prospect Jordan Lawlar would play outfield moving forward, and the recent trade of Jake McCarthy only reiterates that intention. Despite his struggles to hit big-league pitching in brief opportunities since 2023 (.165 batting average in 97 AB), Lawlar eventually will hit. He will run. In fact, we can make a solid case one is better off investing in Lawlar over Arenado in 2026 fantasy leagues. — Karabell (1/13)
A third baseman likely to handle first base for Chicago, Murakami will also draw many walks and strike out quite a bit, a quintessential three-true-outcomes slugger. Fantasy managers shouldn’t expect a high batting average as he enters his age-26 season, but there is certainly top-200 points league upside. Murakami is going inside the top 250 in NFBC ADP, but that figure will certainly rise now that he has found a team. — Karabell (12/21)
Recent reports say Lowe has spent the winter working on his conditioning and he’s in a better environment to fuel a rebound, making him a player to watch during spring training. He’s not draft-worthy in standard leagues yet, and is more roto- than points-oriented, but could be a potential value with a strong March. — Cockcroft (1/16)
Ranger Suarez signs with Red Sox: Suarez, 30, has been a key piece of Philadelphia’s rotation for the past four seasons (and in the Phillies organization since he was 16), posting an aggregate 3.38 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, with 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He was effective. What he wasn’t was overly durable. Suarez neither made 30 starts in any season nor reached 160 innings. That might not change in Boston, but the Red Sox get an often-underrated left-hander with excellent playoff production.
Fantasy managers saw Suarez average 12.6 fantasy points per game in 2025, which was a top-40 mark for starting pitchers, roughly what Kevin Gausman, Jesus Luzardo and Matthew Boyd provided. NFBC ADP has Suarez among the top 200 players and top 75 pitchers. Invest in Suarez as a top-50 starting pitcher and expect solid results, just not with as much volume as most others in that tier. — Karabell (1/14)
Yankees acquire Ryan Weathers from Marlins: The Yankees added Weathers, who has averaged 20.4 professional starts over the past five seasons (across all levels) while totaling 13 in 2025, to their stable of injury-question pitchers. What can go wrong? The lefty should be fine for Opening Day, whereas Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt will not, so there’ll be opportunity for Weathers, who had a 3.74 ERA and a much-improved 6.8% walk rate in the majors over the past two seasons.
It feels relevant to point out Cabrera, in 226 career innings at Miami’s pitcher-friendly park, boasts a 3.50 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. In 205 2/3 road innings, however, that ERA is an unsightly 4.68, with a 1.39 WHIP. Perhaps he will truly be a top-50 starting pitcher in fantasy, but don’t pretend there isn’t risk. — Karabell (1/7)
Tatsuya Imai signs with Astros: Imai, a 27-year-old right-hander who posted a 1.92 ERA with a 27.8% strikeout rate for the Seibu Lions in Japan this past season, signed a three-year contract with Houston, though there are opt-outs after each season. Imai throws a mid-90s fastball in his five-pitch arsenal (and from a deceptive, low-slot delivery) and fantasy managers must decide how effective he will be in a much tougher hitting environment.
Granted, I’d be more intrigued by what Baz (whose average fastball velocity last season matched his 2021 pre-surgery peak of 97.0 mph and, in fact, reached 97.5 after Aug. 1) might have done in pitching-heaven Tropicana Field, but there’s still reason to think he’s headed for a growth season — even in Baltimore. The No. 64 starting pitcher in fantasy points last season, Baz has top-50 breakthrough potential. — Cockcroft (12/19)
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.
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.
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, Chris Bassitt
Pete Fairbanks signs with Marlins: Fairbanks, 32, saved 75 games for the Rays over the last three seasons with reasonable run prevention. Now, he heads to the other side of Florida, likely with similar role security. Eight different Marlins saved games in 2025, led by Calvin Faucher with 15. Fairbanks, for his skills and the financial commitment on his one-year deal, should close in 2026. Of course, he could also end up playing with a contender before August.
The key for Fairbanks is health, as this past season was his first with more than 50 MLB innings. It was also his second consecutive season with a below-average strikeout rate among relief pitchers. This isn’t a top-10 fantasy closer, but he is going among the top 150 players in NFBC ADP for a reason. — Karabell (12/24)