Fantasy baseball: Reactions to MLB trade deadline deals

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is just around the corner, with contending teams deciding what they need to add before 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. This is the place to find out the fantasy baseball implications as a result of the major key wheeling and dealing.

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Will the Arizona Diamondbacks deal away Eugenio Suarez? Do the Miami Marlins send Sandy Alcantara to a contender? What becomes of current Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran? How many current members of the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates will be wearing new uniforms come August?

Every season’s trade deadline has its own unique set of answers and repercussions. Eric Karabell and Tristan H. Cockcroft will analyze and provide an outlook for all of the key players on the move, as well as new opportunities that may arise from those left behind when all the dust has settled.

Note: Not every single transaction warrants the attention of fantasy managers, but for those trades that do merit analysis, you’ll find them listed below.

Ryan McMahon traded from Rockies to Yankees

McMahon,30, certainly is not having his best season, even as he may surpass his career high of 24 home runs. Perhaps joining a pennant race will invigorate him statistically. McMahon boasts four career playoff plate appearances, none since 2018. The obvious angle here for fantasy purposes is that any Colorado Rockies hitter leaving the friendly, altitudinous confines of Denver’s Coors Field is likely to see a drop in production. McMahon boasts an .856 OPS in home games this season and a mere .589 mark on the road. For his career, the splits are not quite as lopsided (.818 vs. .664).

Still, McMahon should play regularly at third base for the New York Yankees, perhaps losing some plate appearances versus left-handed hitting (if only he could platoon with 1B Paul Goldschmidt!), and likely hitting sixth or seventh in the lineup. McMahon should see ample RBI opportunities and, for a lefty pull hitter, there is the attraction of Yankee Stadium’s short right field. This isn’t the worst destination for McMahon, but his value (even in a down season) surely slips. Get him in AL-only formats, but don’t expect top-10 (top-20?) 3B numbers, either.

The Rockies acquire a few pitching prospects fantasy managers can ignore — really, we can ignore most every Rockies pitcher — and there is a vacancy at third base to likely be filled by a boring (at least statistically), right-handed hitting veteran with little power such as Orlando Arcia and Kyle Farmer. Meh. This is not a baseball team trying to win baseball games this season. Except for NL-only formats, we can ignore any of McMahon’s replacements. — Karabell (7/25)

Josh Naylor traded from Diamondbacks to Mariners

This is a good move for the Seattle Mariners, as their offense lacks first-base production, though fantasy managers may not enjoy the repercussions. Naylor hit .324 with an .855 OPS in home games at Arizona’s Chase Field, but Seattle’s T-Mobile Park is arguably the toughest place to hit these days. Naylor is the No. 28 hitter in ESPN points formats, and a top-five first baseman in both roto/categories and points leagues, boasting the best plate discipline (9.4% walk rate) and contact rate (86%) of his career. He has already reached a career-best 11 stolen bases, too.

Naylor should blend in nicely and lengthen Seattle’s strikeout-heavy lineup, perhaps earning the No. 5 spot behind C Cal Raleigh and OF Randy Arozarena, with SS J.P. Crawford and OF Julio Rodriguez entrenched in the first two spots. There will be myriad RBI opportunities. Naylor, with only 11 home runs after launching 31 blasts for last season’s Cleveland Guardians, is a different hitter this season, and this move probably won’t help for power, but he remains a valuable player.

The Arizona Diamondbacks received two minor league pitchers in the deal, neither of whom warrant fantasy attention. Other players may be on the move before next week’s trade deadline. For now, career minor leaguer Tristin English may see regular playing time at first base. English, 28, hit .340 with 11 home runs at Triple-A Reno. The Diamondbacks could platoon him with established veteran 1B Pavin Smith (currently on the IL with a strained oblique), who hits right-handed pitching. — Karabell (7/25)