Fantasy baseball: Sizzling range evaluation of offseason trades and free agent signings

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, taking place in Orlando from Dec. 7-10.

Some of the top names 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 on a five-year deal: 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

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

Orioles acquire Taylor Ward from Angels: In 2025, he 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 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

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, Dylan Cease, Zach Eflin, Ranger Suarez, Chris Bassitt, Tatsuya Imai

Relief pitcher

Players we’re watching: Edwin Diaz, Kirby Yates, Kenley Jansen, Devin Williams