Fantasy Baseball Impact of Offseason Moves: Devin Williams, Emilio Pagan, Dylan Cease and More

The MLB offseason hasn't been super eventful so far, but there's a handful of moves worth discussing.

Here's another fantasy baseball impact story on a couple trades from a week or so ago.

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Signing Breakdowns 

Pagan Re-Signs with Reds

Emilio Pagan signed a new two-year contract with Cincinnati.

Pagan took over the Reds' closer role in 2025 and finished with 32 saves. He was 2-4 with a 2.88 earned run average over 70 games and 68 2/3 innings. Pagan had 81 strikeouts.

At this time, it looks like Pagan has the best chance to open the 2026 season as the team's closer, but we'll need to see what other offseason moves the Reds make in their bullpen.

He will obviously have some fantasy value if he's the closer, so keep him in mind after he was pretty good in 2025.

Mets Land Williams

Devin Williams is staying in New York, just moving from the Yankees to the Mets. He signed a three-year deal.

Williams was all over the place in his year with the Yankees. He was 4-6 with a 4.79 ERA over 67 games and 62 innings. He earned 18 saves, while striking out 90 batters.

He has a career 2.45 ERA still, so if he can regain that form, he could be a top-end fantasy reliever again. The problem is that New York still wants to bring back Edwin Diaz, who would take the closer role again - that would leave Williams in a setup role, and suck up a ton of his fantasy value.

If New York ends up re-signing Diaz, then Williams likely won't even be drafted in most fantasy baseball drafts next spring. If Diaz goes elsewhere, Williams could shine as the Mets' closer, so this is a fascinating story to watch the rest of the offseason.

Cease Headed to Toronto

Dylan Cease was the first big-time pitcher to find a new home, signing a seven-year deal with the Blue Jays.

Cease went 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA over 32 starts and 168 innings pitched with the Padres in 2025. He struck out 215 batters along the way.

He should slot into the top end of the Toronto rotation, and really provides the team with another piece as it looks to win it all next year. Cease will be on a better team, so we'll see if that helps him regain his top-end form - he has a career 3.88 ERA, and has one season at a 2.20 ERA, so he can be elite too.

Orioles Land Helsley

In a move that makes perfect sense, Helsley signed a two-year pact with Baltimore. He will help cover the closer role with Felix Bautista likely out for most, or all, of the 2026 season.

Helsley started last season with St. Louis before being traded to the Mets. He worked 56 innings over 58 games and had a 3-4 record, 4.50 ERA and 21 saves along the way. Helsley also struck out 63.

He's been a top-end closer in the past, and could be that in 2026 on a Baltimore team looking to bounce back. Unless Baltimore adds another closer, I see Helsley serving as the closer, so he'll have some fantasy value to take advantage of.

Trade Breakdown

Along with the trades discussed in the linked story in the second paragraph of this story, there's one more notable trade that's happened since.

It happened on Thursday, with the Pirates and Red Sox swapping five players. Pittsburgh acquired Jhostynxon Garcia and Jesus Travieso, while Boston got Johan Oviedo, Tyler Samaniego and Adonys Guzman.

Oviedo is the most notable MLB player in that bunch, while Garcia is a highly-regarded prospect.

Oviedo has dealt with injuries during his career after debuting back in 2020. He missed 2024 and got in just nine starts this past season. Oviedo went 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA over 40 1/3 innings, while striking out 42 batters.

Oviedo will have a chance to compete for a starting rotation spot, but maybe is on the outside looking in with Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval as rotation options.

Oviedo is likely SP6 for Boston, meaning he could make some starts at some point in 2026 at the very least. If that happens, there will be some fantasy value to take advantage of.

Garcia is the No. 85 prospect in baseball, so I like the return for Pittsburgh. He should have a chance to open the year as a starting outfielder for the Pirates.

In five MLB games last season with Boston, Garcia had a double across seven at-bats. He has a .261 average and .351 on-base percentage across 370 minor league games. 

Garcia might not open the regular season as a huge fantasy asset, but if he delivers, he could become a pretty good asset in time, so he'll be a name to track in spring training and early in the regular season.

Travieso is just 18 years old and has two years of minor league experience under his belt. 

The right-handed pitcher is 3-6 with a 3.24 ERA over 27 starts and 30 games in those two seasons. Travieso has covered 86 innings and has struck out 90 batters in that timeframe.

There's some intrigue in the young hurler, especially if he can keep putting up good numbers as he climbs the minor league ranks. He made it to Single-A last season.

Samaniego is a 26-year-old pitcher, but still has not made his MLB debut. He will provide a little depth in case the Boston bullpen is decimated by injuries.

He has covered 158 innings over 127 appearances (two starts) in his five years in the minor leagues. Samaniego is 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA. He has struck out 182 batters along the way, so there's a chance he eventually gets a crack at the big leagues.

Guzman is a 22-year old catcher who played just one game at Single-A in 2025. He got five at-bats in that contest, delivering a single and home run, two RBIs, and scoring two runs.

While he might be several years from a possible MLB debut (if he gets there), Boston thought enough of him to include him in this trade. Teams don't just trade for players for no reason, so he's one to keep an eye on.

Garcia is the new No. 6 prospect for the Pirates. Travieso is not ranked in the top 30.

Oviedo has obviously graduated from prospect lists. Samaniego and Guzman are not top-30 prospects for Boston, but that doesn't mean they couldn't be in the months/years to come.

The winner of this trade won't be known for several years, but right now, I really like what the Pirates got in return.

Oviedo is more of a depth starter, not an impact arm, at least at this point of his career. To get a top-100 prospect in return already feels like a win for Pittsburgh. I think Garcia has the chance to become an everyday player, and have a bigger impact in Pittsburgh than Oviedo will have in Boston.

The other players added in the deal might not turn into much from a fantasy baseball perspective, but you just never know.