Kevin Gausman


SP


TOR


Toronto

• #34

Age: 35

2026 Stats
W-L

5-10

ERA

4.38

WHIP

1.29

INN

127.1

BB

36

K

127

The Cubs get the rotation piece they desperately needed, though it’s fair to say Kevin Gausman is no sure thing at this stage of his career. The 35-year-old managed to work around a declining strikeout rate the previous two years but has struggled to keep his ERA under 4.00 this year as his velocity has continued to sag. Then again, his swinging-strike rate, walk rate and ground-ball rate are about the same as in 2024 and 2025, and his average exit velocity is actually a little better (88.4 mph). His 3.95 xERA and 3.51 FIP both say he deserves better than he’s gotten and are more in line with the aforementioned seasons. Notably, he also had an ERA over 4.00 in the first half of those two seasons before shaping up in the second half, and the Cubs are obviously counting on the same here. Gausman will have a more forgiving offense backing him in Chicago, but for the most part, his stock holds steady with this move. You could argue he was a buy-low candidate whether he stayed or went. –Scott White

Tyler Mahle traded to Braves

Tyler Mahle


SP


SF


San Francisco

• #54

Age: 31

2026 Stats
W-L

3-9

ERA

5.13

WHIP

1.39

INN

94.2

BB

37

K

89

It’s fair to ask whether this trade is even worth bringing up in a Fantasy Baseball context given Tyler Mahle is only 20 percent rostered and … well, you see the numbers. But he’s not far removed from being a pitcher of interest, having put together a 2.18 ERA for the Rangers during an injury-shortened 2025, and he’s actually regained some of the velocity he was lacking then. He’s sure to get an extended look with the Braves, who have plenty to play for but a startling lack of viable starting pitchers, and if he he were to recapture something, it wouldn’t be the most shocking development. Meanwhile, it’s likely that JR Ritchie’s and/or Grant Holmes’ days in the starting rotation are numbered. –Scott White

Luis Garcia Jr. traded to Yankees

Luis Garcia


1B


WAS


Washington

• #2

Age: 26

2026 Stats
AVG

.283

HR

23

R

48

RBI

76

SB

4

SO

61

The Nationals turned Garcia’s breakout season into a surprisingly light return – a couple of relievers in Yovanny Cruz and Jake Bird and a couple of prospects ranked outside of the team’s top 10 in MLB.com’s rankings in Jack Cebert and Ben Grable – which tells you what the market thinks of a platoon-only, likely first baseman. Maybe the Yankees will move Garcia to second base and retry Jazz Chisholm at third base occasionally, but I’m viewing this as the Yankees acquiring a righty-mashing partner to pair with Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Garcia’s only limitation this season has been a lack of playing time against lefties, and I don’t expect this trade to change that much. It’s probably a park upgrade and a lateral move in lineup context once Aaron Judge is healthy, but it doesn’t fundamentally alter how we view Garcia for Fantasy. He was a good player who is held back by his lack of everyday at-bats and he still is.  

One additional detail here: I think this probably serves as a pessimistic note for Giancarlo Stanton’s chances of ever making an impact. He is set to take live BP Monday as he continues to work his way back from a lingering calf injury, but the Yankees seem to rightfully have very little confidence in Stanton’s chances of playing a big role down the stretch if they are willing to essentially lock Ben Rice into a full-time DH role, which is deal seems to telegraph. –Chris Towers

Freddy Peralta traded to Rays

Freddy Peralta


SP


NYM


N.Y. Mets

• #51

Age: 30

2026 Stats
INN

113.2

W

5

K’s

113

ERA

4.99

WHIP

1.48

Peralta is on the move for the second time in eight months, and the Rays have to believe they have a plan to fix whatever has gone wrong for them since he arrived with the Mets. What is that, exactly? Well, Peralta doesn’t get strikeouts anymore, is the main problem – he’s down to a 22.1% strikeout rate on the season, the first time he’s ever been below even 27%. His changeup, curveball, and fastball whiff rates are all within spitting distance of last year’s numbers, and his slider still has an elite 48.7% whiff rate, too – but that pitch has been getting crushed when he throws it, and Peralta has clearly lost faith in it, increasingly opting to lean on a much less effective sweeper instead. The first order of business of the Rays has to be figuring out why the slider has been so much worse this season and how  to get it back. 

Everything else generally looks as it should for Peralta, so making a change-of-scenery bet while giving up very little in prospect capital — three top-30 organizational prospects, but zero top-10 ones — for two months of Peralta makes plenty of sense. And the Rays are definitely on the shortlist of of teams we believe can fix slightly dented and broken pitchers. There’s no guarantee that Peralta will turn things around, of course, but it’s not a bad bet for the Rays to make – and it’s one Fantasy players should be willing to see through, too. –Chris Towers

Tarik Skubal traded to Dodgers

Tarik Skubal


SP


LAD


L.A. Dodgers

Age: 29

2026 Stats
W-L

7-5

ERA

2.79

WHIP

0.91

INN

96.2

BB

14

K

116

This was entirely expected. The only thing that could have stopped the Dodgers was their own follow-through, and we’ve all seen they have no shortage of that. So what did it take for them to complete the deal? Ultimately, three prospects: one who’s pretty close to top tier, one who would also be if he wasn’t 27 years old, and one who’s lesser known but has the sort of numbers that could raise his stature in the future. Their names are Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith. If you didn’t already have Skubal as the top starting pitcher rest of season, even for as good as he’s looked coming back from a midseason elbow procedure, you should now that he’s joined the best supporting cast in baseball. Over his past six starts, he has a 1.95 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 12.2 K/9. For more on the impact of this trade, and particularly what it means for the league as a whole, check out my full article here. –Scott White

Luis Castillo traded to White Sox

While Luis Castillo is the biggest player on the move, the most impacted player for Fantasy is one that’s staying put: Kade Anderson. The top-flight pitching prospect, drafted third overall last year, has been a force of nature at Double-A, as you can see from the numbers, and because the Mariners typically have their best pitching prospects skip Triple-A, the only obstacle to his promotion has been a stacked rotation that was already six deep. 

Kade Anderson


SP


SEA


Seattle

• #13

2026 Minors
W-L

9-1

ERA

1.20

WHIP

0.66

INN

82.1

BB

12

K

119

The Mariners recently had Anderson take three weeks off from pitching, obviously wanting to reserve some bullets for stretch run. The only question, then, is whether they bring him up right away and stick with a six-man rotation or wait a couple weeks so as to preserve his rookie eligibility. The latter option makes them eligible for certain draft pick incentives, but they may need all the help they can get right now. Either way, Anderson needs to be rostered in all Fantasy leagues because his impact down the stretch could be enormous.

Luis Castillo


SP


CHW


Chi. White Sox

• #58

Age: 33

206 Stats
W-L

3-9

ERA

5.06

WHIP

1.40

INN

99.2

BB

32

K

86

As for Castillo, he wouldn’t seem to have much left in the tank anymore. He’s not the bat-misser nor ground-ball generator he used to be and has struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00. He’s still capable of going six-plus innings on a good day, though, so he’ll be worth streaming at times. Presumably, he’ll be taking Noah Schultz’s place in the rotation, though Erick Fedde and Anthony Kay aren’t exactly mainstays either. What about the Mariners’ return, you ask? Part of it is salary relief, but they’re also getting reliever Seranthony Dominguez, outfielder Nolan Jones and catcher Boston Smith, a 23-year-old with a .291/.448/.589 slash line between Low-A, High-A and Double-A. Smith isn’t the most highly regarded prospect, but numbers like that are sure to draw attention now that a trade has put him on everyone’s radar. –Scott White

Lane Thomas traded to Braves

Lane Thomas


CF


ATL


Atlanta

• #20

Age: 30

2026 Stats
AVG

.230

HR

10

SB

7

OBP

.325

OPS

.717

AB

283

The 30-year-old Lane Thomas, who had a couple years of Fantasy relevance with the Nationals, had begun to draw some Fantasy interest again in July, batting .268 with five homers and three steals. Of course, that was as an everyday player. He’s likely to form the lesser half of a platoon with Mike Yastrzemski in Atlanta, effectively replacing Eli White, given that he has an .800 OPS against lefties this season and an .850 OPS against them for his career. There’s moderate pop and good speed here when he’s playing well, but he’s probably not going to play enough to matter. The other players involved in this deal — left-hander Bailey Falter going to Atlanta and minor league pitchers Lucas Braun and Carter Holton going to Kansas City — are of no real interest in Fantasy. –Scott White

Dean Kremer traded to Twins

Dean Kremer


SP


MIN


Minnesota

• #13

Age: 30

2026 Stats
W-L

1-4

ERA

6.50

WHIP

1.36

INN

36

BB

11

K

38

For a minute there, it looked like Dean Kremer might be of some interest in Fantasy. I’m referring mainly to that time when he allowed one earned run in six innings against the White Sox after a three-month absence for a quad strain. He was leaning into his splitter more than ever before, and it’s a pitch that yields excellent results with a .204 batting average against and 41.5 percent whiff rate. As the pitch selection normalized, though, the ERA took an ugly turn, and now he finds himself on a Twins staff that doesn’t have an obvious opening for him. At first glance, he wouldn’t appear to be any better than the pitchers occupying the fourth and fifth spots, Zebby Matthews and Connor Prielipp, but both are entering unfamiliar territory with regard to innings, Prielipp especially. This trade serves as a reminder that those two pitchers, who are pretty fringy in Fantasy to begin with, have an expiration date. You can expect Kremer to fill a swingman role until he needs to step in full-time. –Scott White

Curtis Mead traded to Red Sox for Connelly Early

Curtis Mead


3B


BOS


Boston

Age: 25

2026 Stats
AVG

.254

HR

17

SB

6

OBP

.352

OPS

.852

AB

284

Report: Curtis Mead fractured his wrist in his second plate appearance for the Red Sox and will likely miss the rest of the season. The outlook depicted here now belongs to the theoretical. Perhaps it will apply to 2027, though the Red Sox could make moves between now and then that would alter it. 

How refreshing to see a trade that’s more about matching up needs than shedding salary for prospects. Mead and Connelly Early both have several years of control left and, with this trade, become foundational pieces for clubs that lacked what they can provide. The big winner for Fantasy is Mead, who has had a breakout season in every respect but was required to sit occasionally on account of the Nationals’ infield surplus. He should play every day for the Red Sox — and at second base, no less, likely preserving his triple eligibility for next year. He also has a batted-ball profile that’s perfectly suited for Fenway Park, lacking in high-end exit velocities but abounding in fly balls pulled from the right side. He was already having an offensive breakthrough, but you can expect his batting average to rise as some of his fly ball outs become singles and doubles off the Green Monster. This trade puts him on the fringes of the top 12 at third base, where he’s of the most use in Fantasy.

Connelly Early


SP


WAS


Washington

Age: 24

2026 Stats
W-L

7-5

ERA

3.44

WHIP

1.26

INN

91.2

BB

34

K

93

From a real-world perspective, this trade probably seems like a coup for the Nationals, seeing as Early was a top prospect coming into the year while Mead had already flopped with two organizations and is challenged defensively. Mead’s stock has obviously risen since then, however, while Early’s has probably slipped a little. Notably, the Nationals are acquiring Early while he’s sidelined by elbow inflammation, which doesn’t sound serious but does introduce an element of uncertainty. Even prior to the injury, Early’s control had been shaky and his stuff had played down, putting his ERA estimators well above his actual ERA. Perhaps the Red Sox thought they should get while the getting was good.  –Scott White

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