Fantasy Baseball Impacts of Ryan McMahon and Gregory Soto Trades

A couple of MLB trades have broken today, so let's go over them from a fantasy baseball perspective.

More MLB moves can be found on the league's transaction page. Also check out our story on the Josh Naylor trade from Thursday.

For the latest player updates, be sure to head to FantasySP to utilize the real-time player news engine for all sports. The player news engine is the most robust and fastest player news system in fantasy sports. Signing up for a FantasySP membership can help you track all your fantasy players.

Yankees Land a Third Basemen

The New York Yankees traded for a third baseman, getting Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies. 

Colorado will get pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz in return.

McMahon is having a down season, but he's been better over the past few weeks. Overall in 100 games and 401 plate appearances, McMahon has a .217 average and .314 on-base percentage. He's a career .240 hitter with a .323 OBP, so some improvement should be coming.

He has 76 total hits on the season, including 16 home runs, 15 doubles and a triple. McMahon has 35 RBIs, 42 runs scored, two stolen bases, 49 walks and 127 strikeouts.

Going from the Rockies to the Yankees is a big boost for McMahon's fantasy value. As a result, his own percentage should rise significantly from its current 32% mark.

McMahon will likely slot in near the bottom of the order, but the Yankees' lineup is loaded enough for that to still be a great fantasy spot for McMahon. He'll have a great chance to drive in runs, and his overall numbers should improve with better hitters around him.

McMahon is just a deep-league fantasy asset right now, but in time he could get back into standard leagues, especially if he's starting every day for his new team.

I'm a fan of adding McMahon in a good amount of deeper leagues, and because it's the Yankees, I'd guess his own percentage will rise over 50% in a hurry. I'm more inclined to add him in deeper leagues only right now, then assess where his numbers are at before giving him a roster spot in standard leagues.

If you are interested in McMahon, or have a need at third base, then you might need to pick him up now in standard leagues. He's been a daily fantasy asset in the past, and could get there with his new team in time.

I'm guessing McMahon will be in a waiver wire story next week, unless his own percentage rises significantly over the weekend.

The two pitching prospects are likely a couple years away from debuting, so there's no redraft fantasy value in either of them. We'll briefly go over each prospect in case you are a dynasty owner though.

Herring was the Yankees' No. 8 prospect before the trade. Grosz is No. 21. Both had 2027 ETAs, although they could move up a bit with their new organization.

Herring is a 22-year-old lefty who was in High-A. He was the Yankees' sixth-round pick in 2024. Herring is 7-3 with a 1.71 earned run average over 89 1/3 innings across two minor league levels this season. He has 102 strikeouts, 36 walks and a .178 average against him.

Grosz is 22 years old and was in High-A as well - he's a righty. He was the Yankees' 11th-round pick back in 2023. Grosz is 11-16 across 38 starts and 40 appearances over two minor league seasons. In 208 2/3 innings, Grosz has a 3.97 ERA, 225 strikeouts, 87 walks and a .220 average against him.

Herring is the better dynasty asset, but both are just options in deeper leagues. Their new home isn't a favorable spot to pitch in, so their dynasty stock probably both took a small hit with the trade.

Mets Get a Left-Handed Reliever

New York landed Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles in a smaller deal that took place earlier in the day.

Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster are going from the Mets to the Orioles in the deal.

I was discussing Soto all morning, both indirectly in the drop story with Felix Bautista and directly in the American League closer update for the Orioles and the waiver wire story.

Instead of having a chance to close games for the Orioles, he'll now be a bullpen arm for a contending Mets' team.

Soto has worked in 45 games and covered 36 1/3 innings this season. He has a 3.96 ERA, along with 44 strikeouts and 18 walks.

Any fantasy value he was gaining as a possible closer for the Orioles is sucked up in the move to the Mets. It's a good thing for his career, but is a detriment to his fantasy outlook.

Edwin Diaz will remain the top closer for New York, and Soto is likely behind a couple others still if Diaz ever got hurt or struggled. Only roster Soto in the deepest of fantasy leagues.

Aracena and Foster are more dynasty options again, but we'll discuss them both quickly.

Aracena is the Orioles' No. 19 prospect after the trade. He has a 2028 ETA. The 20-year-old was working in Single-A before the trade, and signed with the Mets in 2022. 

Aracena is 7-14 with a 4.53 career ERA over 173 minor league games. He's started 34 times among his 57 appearances. Aracena has 214 strikeouts, 123 walks and a .210 average against him.

Foster is 26 years old and was in Double-A with the Mets. He was drafted in the 14th round in 2022.

Foster is 13-10 and sports a 3.78 ERA over 26 starts and 66 appearances over three minor league seasons. He has 192 strikeouts, 72 walks and a .255 average against him over 183 1/3 innings.

Aracena has some deep, deep dynasty appeal, but again, neither he or Foster are major dynasty assets, and likely never will be.