Fantasy Baseball Trade Deadline Tracker: Eugenio Suarez back to Seattle; Jhoan Duran headlines closer shakup

The trade deadline may be Thursday at 6 p.m. ET, but the deals are already coming in. And 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.

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