Fantasy Baseball Impact of Latest MLB Transactions: Kyle Schwarber, Edwin Diaz, Harry Ford and More

A number of MLB offseason transactions have taken place since our last roundup, so it's time to go over the latest moves and what they mean from a fantasy baseball perspective.

Here's the last story we did.

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Signings

Schwarber Re-Signs with Phillies

A couple big deals occurred on Tuesday, which was the reason behind writing this story. The first deal was Kyle Schwarber re-signing with the Phillies.

He is reportedly signing for $150 million over five years.

The 32-year-old slugger is coming off a career-best season in which he played all 162 games. Schwarber had 56 home runs and 132 RBIs.

He had a .240 average and .365 on-base percentage over 724 plate appearances. Schwarber also had 23 doubles, two triples and 145 total hits, along with 10 stolen bases, 108 walks and 197 strikeouts.

You know what you are going to get with Schwarber - a lot of pop and run production, but also a lot of strikeouts. That's the name of the game right now, so he's honestly a great example of what MLB teams are hoping for in a slugger.

Philly figures to have a pretty good team again in 2026, so Schwarber should be in store for another monster fantasy season. Really, the only thing working against him is that he might only be eligible at designated hitter, which makes his fantasy appeal a bit lower. If he's eligible in the outfield in your league, then lucky you.

Regardless of where he could start for you, Schwarber will be owned in all fantasy leagues, and be a daily starter. He should be drafted in the first two or three rounds of most fantasy drafts. You might have to draft carefully around him (if he's only eligible at DH), but he's a great fantasy asset, so every fantasy owner should be thrilled to add the star slugger.

Diaz Joins Dodgers

The other big news was Edwin Diaz signing a three-year deal with the Dodgers. He signed for $69 million.

This move actually impacts both the Dodgers and the Mets. Let's start with LA.

Diaz will be the team's closer for the 2026 season. LA is better than New York, so Diaz's fantasy outlook is a touch better.

A 6-3 record, 1.63 earned run average, 28 saves and 98 strikeouts over 66 1/3 innings last season already shows that Diaz is an elite fantasy reliever, so joining the league's most-stacked team should help him pick up a few more saves throughout the season.

He was already in the mix for being the first fantasy reliever taken, and I think this move gives him the edge for that top spot. As the season gets closer, we will take a look at about where Diaz is going on average in fantasy drafts.

As for the rest of the LA relievers, there will now only be a handful of saves to go around. Tanner Scott loses most of his fantasy value with Diaz coming over, but he still has some value if he can be an elite setup man.

For New York, Diaz signing elsewhere probably means that Devin Williams is going to be the team's closer in 2026. We covered him at length in the last transaction impact article, which we linked early in this article.

Williams gets a big fantasy boost from the Diaz news. He should be a high-end fantasy relief option again in 2026, even after struggling at times in 2025.

Matz Signs with Rays

Steven Matz signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He went 5-2 with a 3.05 ERA over 53 games (two starts) and 76 2/3 innings while with St. Louis in 2025. Matz had 59 punchouts along the way, along with two saves.

Matz has starting experience earlier in his career, and he might be a starter for Tampa Bay, which will make or break his fantasy outlook.

If Matz is coming out of the bullpen, he won't have nearly the fantasy upside that he would as a starting pitcher.

It'll be interesting to see how the team treats him in the leadup to the season. He's been a pretty solid fantasy asset in the past, but probably won't be drafted in many fantasy leagues going into 2026.

He'll be a name to keep an eye on in case he excels in Tampa Bay. It's a place where a lot of pitchers find success, so keep Matz in mind for an early-season pickup.

Soroka Lands in Arizona

Michael Soroka signed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks.

He made 17 starts over 22 MLB appearances in 2025 while pitching for the Cubs and Nationals. Soroka was 3-8 overall with a 4.52 ERA over 89 2/3 innings. He struck out 95 batters and walked 29.

Soroka's career was off to a great start before injuries derailed things. He didn't pitch in 2021 or 2022 (after barely pitching in 2020), and then he made just seven appearances in 2023.

He hasn't been the same pitcher the past two years, but maybe a prove-it deal in Arizona can help him get back on track.

Soroka will have a good chance at being in the starting rotation to start the season for the D-Backs. As long as he keeps that starting spot, he will have fantasy value.

He won't be a huge draft asset, but could pitch well enough to be a good streaming option, or eventual player to hold. Keep Soroka in mind for deeper league drafts, and put him on your watch list in standard leagues.

Trade

Washington, Seattle Make Deal

Washington sent Jose A. Ferrer to Seattle, getting Harry Ford and Isaac Lyon in return. 

Ferrer picked up 11 saves for the Nats in 2025. He was 4-4 over 72 appearances out of the bullpen. Ferrer struck out 71 batters over 76 1/3 innings.

In Seattle, he should help set up closer Andres Munoz. The move from closer to setup man is a big blow to Ferrer's fantasy value. It'd take an injury to Munoz, and maybe others, for Ferrer to get a lot of saves in Seattle.

Ferrer still has some deep-league fantasy value, but will need to improve his ERA (4.48) to be a worthwhile fantasy hold in those leagues.

Ford is the No. 42 prospect in baseball right now, and should be able to compete for the starting job going into 2026.

The 22-year-old catcher made his MLB debut in 2025, getting in eight games. Over 454 minor league games since 2021, Ford owns a .266 average and .405 on-base percentage.

Ford has 450 hits over his minor league career, including 52 home runs, 98 doubles and 10 triples. He also has 261 RBIs, 330 runs scored, 92 stolen bases, 348 walks and 441 strikeouts.

There's a lot to like in his minor league numbers, and that's why he's a highly-regarded prospect. He'll have a better chance to crack the MLB roster in Washington, where he doesn't have to deal with Cal Raleigh.

Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams are the team's top catchers right now. It might be hard for Ford to make the big league roster otherwise, as the Nats have a lot of starters already in place.

Ford is the new No. 2 prospect for Washington. Lyon is not ranked inside the top 30, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be one day.

Lyon is a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher who has just one year of minor league experience under his belt. He pitched 12 1/3 innings over four starts, going 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA. Lyon had 15 strikeouts and three walks over his starts.

Teams trade for players for a reason, so we'll see if Washington can develop Lyon into a decent starter or reliever down the line.

Again, the winner of this trade won't be determined until many years down the line. I really like what Washington got here, as I'm high on Ford.

He could make an impact as soon as this season, and any hitter is usually going to have more value than a reliever, even a pretty solid one like Ferrer.

Ford has the best chance to be a legit fantasy asset in 2026, so we'll see if he can live up to some of the hype he has as a prospect.