The trade deadline is here, and the deals are pouring in. While we’re likely to see some team set itself on a course for a championship while several others fundamentally alter their long-term trajectory, chances are you’re mostly concerned with how the deals affect you. Typical.

Fortunately, there’s the Trade Deadline Tracker to cater to your self centeredness. Here, you’ll find quick-hitting analysis from Chris Towers and myself (Scott White) for all the moves that matter to Fantasy Baseball. Be sure to bookmark this page and circle back as the moves come pouring in. It could be a wild ride.

Mason Miller traded to Padres

Apparently, Robert Suarez wasn’t good enough for the bougie Padres, because they went out and acquired the best closer available. They paid a ransom for him, too, giving up Leo De Vries, a consensus top five overall prospect. De Vries may be a ways away still at 18 and may have been moved to High-A too quickly, judging by his numbers, but rarely do we see prospects of his caliber traded these days, certainly not for a relief pitcher. And De Vries isn’t the only prospect going to the Athletics, though the other three (all pitchers) aren’t as notable. Granted, the Padres also get JP Sears, a rotation stabilizer type whose fly ball tendencies should play better in Petco Park than Sutter Health Park, but he’s not what most people would consider to be a significant asset and should remain more of a streamer type for Fantasy.

But what about this move for Miller? Well, he should remain a stud closer, likely getting more consistent save chances than he did with the Athletics. His ERA has run high this year, mostly because of some control issues back in May. Over his past 20 appearances, he’s looked more like he did during his scintillating rookie season, putting together a 1.74 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 10.5 K/9. The big loser in this deal is the Padres’ incumbent closer, Robert Garcia, though there seems to be some disagreement over whether he’ll be moved later today. Stay tuned! –Scott White

Carlos Correa traded to the Astros 

Well, that’s fascinating. Correa returns to the franchise that drafted him four years after leaving as a free agent. He’s having a down year, hitting just .267/.319/.386 with the lowest OPS of his career, but the underlying numbers suggest he hasn’t slipped nearly as much – his .337 xwOBA is still well above league average, and returning to Houston should only help him live up to his potential. Correa will likely slot into the open hole at third best and this trade seems to suggest that Isaac Paredes‘ hamstring injury is serious enough that he may miss the rest of the season. The arrow ticks slightly up for Correa the rest of the way, and adding third base eligibility would make it a little easier to fit him into your lineup for Fantasy, too. –Chris Towers

Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano traded to the Padres

The Padres continue to be aggressive, filling two of the biggest holes in their lineup in one move. O’Hearn is basically a supercharged version of Gavin Sheets, a righty-crusher who can hold his own in a corner outfield spot but will probably spend most of his time in San Diego playing either first base or DH. It’s a park downgrade, but O’Hearn is hitting .277/.342/.454 over the past three seasons and should provide a nice upgrade over Sheets, who has fallen apart after a hot start. 

The reason O’Hearn probably won’t play the outfield much is because Laureano looks like the answer at left field for the Padres. He has played his way into a more or less everyday role for the Orioles lately and has earned it, hitting .273/.332/.481 since the start of last season. He’s not a great defender, but he’s capable enough to be the team’s primary left fielder for the stretch run and is a viable low-end Fantasy option in categories leagues – he has 26 homers and 12 steals in 599 plate appearances over the past two seasons. If he can keep this up – and the underlying numbers suggest he can – it’s a big upgrade for a Padres team that ranks 24th in WAR from their left fielders this season. 

With Cedric Mullins moved earlier in the day, this leaves the Orioles pretty shallow in the outfield – and would seem to guarantee we’ll see Dylan Beavers at some point soon. Beavers is hitting .306/.417/.507 with excellent plate discipline at Triple-A, and has enough power and speed to at least be worth a look in categories leagues if and when he gets promoted. This trade also likely means Coby Mayo will finally get at least a few uninterrupted months of playing time, and while he hasn’t shown much at the MLB level, he’s still worth a flier for Fantasy just in case he lives up to his potential. The one-time top prospect is still just 23 and has 30 homers in 134 games at Triple-A over the past two seasons and could still develop into an impact bat in the mold of an Austin Riley if everything goes right. Let’s add him in any categories leagues just to see what he can do with the opportunity. –Chris Towers

Cedric Mullins traded to the Mets

The Mets got their center fielder, and Mullins figures to garner significant playing time against right-handed pitching at the very least. It’s a lineup upgrade, but doesn’t change the fundamentals of Mullins’ game from a Fantasy perspective – he’ll still likely play less than everyday, likely at the bottom of the lineup. It’s a nice upgrade for the Mets, adding a capable center field defender who can hold his own against righties, but from a Fantasy perspective, it doesn’t change much. 

At least for the Mets. On the Orioles side of things, it could be interesting if the Orioles decide to give Dylan Beavers the call from Triple-A Norfolk. The 23-year-old is hitting .306/.417/.507 with a good approach at the plate at Triple-A, and he has enough of an all-around skill set that he could matter for Fantasy if he gets the call. That’s the primary name to keep an eye on in the aftermath of this trade for the Orioles. –Chris Towers

Shane Bieber traded to Blue Jays

This is a fun one for the Blue Jays, who are taking a shot on a former Cy Young winner nearing the end of his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery. Bieber fell off a bit in 2022 and 2023 but then worked with Driveline Baseball prior to 2024 to recapture his former velocity and was looking dominant prior to suffering the elbow injury. He was apparently topping out at 94 mph in his latest rehab start for Double-A Akron — allowing one run on three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in four innings — which is right where we want him to be. The Blue Jays must be feeling optimistic because they gave up a pretty good prospect, pitcher Khal Stephen, in the deal. Stephen was their second round pick just last year and has a 2.06 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 between three minor league stops, having just debuted for Double-A New Hampshire. Expect to see Bieber back in the majors at some point in August and be sure to stash him in the meantime. –Scott White

Jesus Sanchez traded to the Astros 

The Astros outfield hasn’t been terrible this season, but they’ve been badly lacking in power, and Sanchez brings that to the table, if not much else. He can fake it in center field but is more comfortable in right, and might factor into the DH rotation until Yordan Alvarez is healthy enough to return. Sanchez has big raw power but doesn’t consistently elevate the ball enough to live up to it. He’ll be a part-time player for the Astros and a viable streamer when the schedule is full of right-handed pitching, just like he was in Miami. –Chris Towers

David Bednar traded to the Yankees

The Yankees add a third closer to their bullpen, with Bednar joining Devin Williams and Luke Weaver as another high-leverage weapon. But he’ll likely need both to falter to have a chance at Fantasy value, so this is a pretty clear situation of a player losing value entirely because of a deal.

On the Pirates side, we do have a natural replacement for Bednar in the form of Dennis Santana, who has been a stabilizing force for the Pirates bullpen and filled in for Bednar when he was demoted earlier in the season. He isn’t nearly as good as his 1.36 ERA, but Santana’s excellent control and ability to generate weak contact helps him overcome a mediocre strikeout rate. He won’t be a dominant closer, but he should be good enough to be useful for Fantasy down the stretch – assuming he doesn’t get traded himself in the next three hours. –Chris Towers

Kyle Finnegan traded to the Tigers

The Nationals didn’t trade Kyle Finnegan at last year’s deadline, but they were more aggressive this time around, sending him to the Tigers, in a move that might muddle two different bullpens. On the Tigers side, they’ve mostly gotten by with Will Vest and Tommy Kahnle splitting most of the save opportunities, and it’s hard to see Finnegan just completely upturning that situation and being the lone closer. The Tigers have worked with committees pretty heavily the past couple of seasons, and I think even a best-case scenario for Finnegan is that he’s part of a mix in Detroit now. 

On the Washington side, the ninth inning is now completely wide open … it’s just not clear there’s an obvious candidate to step into it. Jose Ferrer is probably the highest leverage pitcher remaining in the bullpen, but he also has a 4.78 ERA, a low strikeout rate, and is left-handed all of which could make the Nationals less likely to trust him as the closer. The problem is, there aren’t really any better candidates in this bullpen, so while Cole Henry or Konnor Pilkington or Zach Brzykcy could all be involved at some point, smart money is on Ferrer getting the first crack. He’s obviously well behind Griffin Jax and Cade Smith on the reliever hierarchy on waivers for Fantasy, and is definitely someone to settle for, not someone to make a target. –Chris Towers

Eugenio Suarez traded to Mariners

OK, let’s try this again. Suarez already had a two-year stint with the Mariners, and while it wasn’t a disaster, seeing him deliver a respectable number of home runs, it took him out of the stud conversation in Fantasy. He had only 2.63 Head to Head points per game in 2022 and 2.34 in 2023. That first number would be like Zach McKinstry this year. That second number would be like Matt Shaw. Suarez himself is averaging 3.43 points per game this year, so you see how much better things have gotten for them since his Mariners days.

Truthfully, though, I don’t expect much to change for him in this deal. His home numbers during his two years in Seattle were no worse than his road numbers, and he was especially bad during the first half of his first season in Arizona. The turnaround that’s seen him hit .273 with 53 homers and a .919 OPS over the last calendar year is likely more the result of a mechanical change than an environmental one, so while I would have preferred Suarez stay in Arizona, where I know everything is copacetic, this move is … whatever. Sure, it’s big in that it’s probably the highest-end Fantasy player we’ll see moved at the deadline, but I don’t see it changing his value much.

The player whose value could change the most is Tyler Locklear, who’s the most Fantasy relevant of the pieces going back to the Diamondbacks. The Mariners had just called him up Wednesday after a massive surge that saw him hit .387 (48 for 124) with 14 homers in his final 32 games at Triple-A, but they had no place to play him after acquiring Josh Naylor to man first base. Where did they get Naylor, though? The Diamondbacks, of course, so Locklear can step in to play first base for that team instead. While the 24-year-old flopped in his first big league opportunity last year, it was only a 16 game sample. His exit velocities and plate discipline suggest he could work as a major leaguer.

You know who else could work as a major leaguer? Long delayed prospect Jordan Lawlar, who finally has an open path with Suarez out of the picture. Unfortunately, he’ll need to recover from a hamstring strain first. Stay tuned for that. –Scott White

Zack Littell traded to Reds

Littell has never been a pitcher who would wow you with his stuff, but his elite control has made him into a real asset over the past couple years and a must-roster Fantasy pitcher this year. He’s among the most homer-prone pitchers, which you wouldn’t expect to play well at one of the most homer-prone venues, but then again, George M. Streinbrenner Field also counts itself among those. The most curious part of this deal is that the Reds have a full rotation already, so whether it’s hitting the brakes on Chase Burns (please no) or shifting Nick Martinez to the bullpen, there will be some collateral damage from this trade … perhaps cleared up by a future trade? –Scott White

Michael Soroka traded to Cubs

Soroka has been in a constant state of reinvention over the past three years, trying to recapture his former glory after a pair of ruptured Achilles tendons. This year has been the most successful of them so far, but even it’s been a head-scratcher in many ways. Take just his last three outings. They were solid enough, seeing him allow four earned runs over 14 innings with nearly a strikeout per for a 2.57 ERA, but his velocity was down 1.5 to 2.5 mph across the board. He has a good strikeout-minus-walk rate but a poor swinging-strike rate. And depending whether you look at his ERA (4.87), his xERA (3.32) or his FIP (4.11), you’re likely to come away with a different impression. Perhaps it’s telling that a team as competitive as the Cubs saw fit to acquire him, and his Fantasy prospects of course go up with the improved supporting cast. I’d still view him as more of a streamer play than a priority pickup, though, until I see evidence of him stabilizing. –Scott White

Ryan Helsley traded to Mets

So much for Helsley’s Fantasy value. The Mets already have an all-timer closing for them in Edwin Diaz, and while Helsley did a pretty nice Diaz impression from 2022 through 2024, he’s been more vulnerable this year, as you can see from the WHIP especially. He’ll make a fine setup man for Diaz, but setup men don’t have much value outside of holds leagues and are pretty interchangeable even then. To make matters worse, Helsley didn’t have a clear understudy in St. Louis, so while we’re losing one surefire saves source in Fantasy, we’re not necessarily gaining another. The most likely candidates to replace Helsley are Phil Maton and JoJo Romero, with Maton having an edge as the right-hander, but because he’s an impending free agent, he’s very likely to be moved as well. Stay tuned! –Scott White

Jhoan Duran traded to Phillies

The Phillies seemed like the most obvious landing spot for one of elite closers, and in Duran they got one of the best. The 27-year-old has a 2.01 ERA despite his strikeout rate declining for the fourth season in a row because he remains one of the most difficult pitchers in baseball to hit hard. His xERA sits at 2.68, right in line with his previous few seasons thanks to his ability to generate tons of groundballs, harmless infield pop ups, and general weak contact. He figures to step in immediately as the top ninth inning option for the Phillies, and while Rob Thomson has been known to play matchups in the late innings, that shouldn’t really impact Duran’s value for Fantasy – he’s never been used as a true, ninth-inning-only closer anyway. His value should hold steady with the trade to Philadelphia, while both Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering will see a big decline in value.

The Minnesota side of the deal is much more interesting, because it might clear a path for Griffin Jax to finally emerge as a shutdown closer in his own right. Jax has been every bit as effective as Duran over the past couple of seasons – don’t let the 3.91 ERA fool you, his peripherals are among the best in baseball, still. He combines elite swing and miss abilities with elite control, and would be in the top-five closer discussion … if there weren’t at least a chance he was about to get traded, too. Jax has a couple years of club control left and could fetch a haul in trade, but the Twins might have been in a position where they dangled both Jax and Duran in trade talks, took the best offer for either of them, and will be happy to hang on to Jax as their next shutdown closer. Jax is worth adding in all leagues where saves matter, but just be careful not to go too overboard with your FAB bids, just in case we find out by Thursday afternoon that he’s landing somewhere that will keep him in a setup role. 

And then, of course, there are the prospects. There’s Mick Abel, who fits in with Zebby Matthews and David Festa among the Twins group of young pitchers who don’t quite seem to pitch to the apparent quality of their stuff. He’ll get another chance in the Twins bullpen after stumbling with the Phillies, and there’s still some upside here if they can find a few tweaks that turn the impressive stuff into missed bats. But he’s not guaranteed a rotation spot and has a lot to prove after largely falling on his face with the Phillies. 

And the Twins also received 18-year-old catcher Eduardo Tait in the deal, and he might be the more interesting player in the deal. Tait was the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect entering the season according to BaseballProspectus.com, while FanGraphs.com ranked him No. 5. He was recently promoted to High-A after hitting .251/.322/.436, which is a better line than you might think for a catcher who is, again, still just 18 years old for another month. He’s probably a few years away from making any kind of impact for Fantasy, but he’s got big power potential for his age and position, has shown growth with his swing decisions this season, and could be in the top-100 prospect discussion for 2026 if he closes out the season well — apparently, BaseballProspectus ranked him No. 51 in their midseason update. It’s an intriguing profile if he can stick at catcher in the long term – no sure thing, as he has split his time nearly evenly between catcher and DH this season. –Chris Towers

Ke’Bryan Hayes traded to Reds

This is a park upgrade, and not an insignificant one. If Hayes had played his entire career at Great American Ballpark, he would have 59 homers, per Statcast data; in Pittsburgh, he would have 34. Of course, a 40% increase in homers isn’t especially meaningful for a guy who has six homers in 196 games dating back to the start of last season.

And there’s the problem with Hayes. He’s an elite defender who should have some value to the Reds no matter what he does with the bat, but does that matter for Fantasy? Not unless the Reds find a way to fix what has become a completely broken swing. Hayes used to combine pretty good plate discipline with excellent raw power, but he struggled to maximize that power because he didn’t elevate the ball consistently, especially down the left field line. Now, he just doesn’t really do anything well; his strikeout rate is a little better than average, but his quality of contact has tanked, down to a .330 expected wOBA on contact this season, well below the league average of .369. There are latent tools here waiting to be unlocked, and maybe the Reds will be better equipped to do it. Maybe a change of scenery will do it, even.

But given how long it’s been since Hayes mattered for Fantasy, even a change of scenery and a huge upgrade in ballpark isn’t enough to push him onto Fantasy radars outside of the absolute deepest leagues. 

As for the Pirates, they got reliever Taylor Rogers (who could be traded elsewhere by Thursday’s deadline) and shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura, a 20-year-old hitting .262/.393/.411 at Low-A this season. The walk rate is terrific and he has plenty of speed (28 steals in 88 games), but there doesn’t seem to be enough power in his profile to overcome his contact issues. Even in a best-case scenario, he’s probably several years away from mattering, and he probably won’t outside of very deep Dynasty leagues. –Chris Towers

Luis Garcia, Andrew Chafin traded to Angels

This deal doesn’t really matter for Fantasy, except for what it implies: That the Angels are buying heading into the deadline. And that seems to make it much less likely that they are going to trade Kenley Jansen by Thursday. That’s meaningful because Reid Detmers looked well positioned to make a big impact for Fantasy if Jansen was out of the picture, but now it looks like he’ll remain a setup man for the rest of the season. Get your jokes in about a team with a 5.3% chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs.com, actually going for it, but ours is not to reason why. –Chris Towers

Seranthony Dominguez traded to the Blue Jays; Gregory Soto traded to Mets

Neither player seems especially likely to factor into their new teams’ closer situations, though Dominguez could be insurance in case Jeff Hoffman suddenly falters. But the interesting wrinkle here is what it means for the Orioles‘ bullpen. Felix Bautista was place on the IL with a shoulder injury and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a minimum-length stay, so things are pretty wide open in Baltimore right now. The only save since Bautista’s injury actually went to Soto on Thursday, and Dominguez got the ninth inning in a four-run win over the Rockies over the weekend, just to give a sense of how wide open it is. Yennier Cano has some closing experience and has been very good in the past, but he’s struggled to a 4.42 ERA this season, so we’ll see how much faith they have in him, I guess. I would bet on Cano being the top option, with Andrew Kittredge also a candidate – if they both don’t get traded themselves. This might be a stay-away situation for the time being. 

All that being said, the first save appearance after all of the shuffling went to Corbin Martin, a one-time big-deal pitching prospect who has re-emerged in the Orioles bullpen. He had a 5.29 ERA with mediocre peripherals in Triple-A, so skepticism is warranted, but if you’re desperate for saves and want to beat the deadline rush, take a look at him. –Chris Towers

Ryan McMahon traded to Yankees

McMahon has been less a stud in Fantasy than a steady presence, consistently delivering 20 to 25 home runs with a not so terrible batting average. The batting average has been closer to terrible this year, which only raises concerns over how a player with his already fringe profile can survive away from the most hitter friendly ballpark in baseball. After all, McMahon is a career .264 hitter with an .820 OPS at Coors Field vs. .216 and .664 everywhere else. Then again, projecting hitters who leave Colorado is never as simple as extrapolating their road starts. When they’re accustomed to seeing the ball move a certain way in a thin-air environment, a temporary displacement from that environment (like going on a road trip) is particularly jarring, but a more permanent displacement brings about a more permanent adjustment.

That’s the hope for McMahon as he goes to the Yankees, who, of course, have one of the most homer friendly venues for lefties, but there’s another problem. His swing isn’t geared to take advantage of the short porch in right field, as demonstrated by the poor pulled air rates throughout his career. Statcast suggests that if he had played every game at Yankee Stadium, he’d have hit 28 fewer home runs in his career. To make matters worse, the Yankees acquired Amed Rosario a day after acquiring McMahon, and there’s some speculation that the two could platoon moving forward. All in all, there are just too many negatives here for me to think McMahon will remain viable in standard size leagues. –Scott White

Josh Naylor traded to Mariners

Naylor hadn’t missed a beat with his move from Cleveland to Arizona in the offseason. Sure, he was on pace for about 20 homers rather than the 31 he hit in 2024, but with an additional 50 points in batting average. His game has always required a certain amount of tradeoff between those two numbers. You might worry that a move to Seattle crushes his Fantasy value since T-Mobile Park has a reputation for suppressing home runs, but Chase Field rates similarly in that regard. Naylor obviously made the necessary adjustment to that venue, actually hitting better there (.324 batting average and .855 OPS) than on the road.

T-Mobile Park has its own unique complications, though. Some of the hitters who have passed through have complained about the batter’s eye, and there’s no telling until we see him there whether Naylor will be afflicted by that. I would have rather him stayed in Arizona, where he had a better supporting cast and some history of success already, and the added uncertainty is enough for me to drop him behind Cody Bellinger in my rest-of-season rankings (it was already a close call). The most likely scenario, though, is that Naylor continues to perform about the same as he already was. –Scott White