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MLB Offseason Review: How biggest moves will impact 2025 fantasy baseball landscape

scott pianowski
Fantasy analyst
·6-min read

February is just around the corner, which means it's time to start ramping up for fantasy baseball. A number of key transactions have gone down in the past few months — and we're still waiting for some big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso to sign — here are the highlights to get you up to speed.

Steve Cohen maintained the Mets wouldn't be outbid on Soto, and ultimately the ticket came down for 15 years and $765 million (not to mention a luxury suite for Soto's family). Soto gets a minor ballpark downgrade and he also has the pressure of changing teams on a big contract — often that leads to some first-year bumpiness — but we're also talking about a Hall of Fame-trajectory talent who's merely entering his age-26 season. Even without much on the bases, Soto belongs in the first round of any fantasy draft.

Burnes has been one of baseball's most reliable horses over the last five years, charting in the Cy Young race every season and coming off a career-best 15 wins and a solid 2.92 ERA. We do have to be careful about his strikeout rate, though, which has dropped four straight seasons — Burnes was merely at 8.4 K/9 last year. The ballpark change from Baltimore to Arizona is close to neutral. He steps into his age-30 season and is ranked as top-five starter.

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The Dodgers have become the Superpower of current MLB, off a championship and reloading with several key moves. Snell, a consensus top-10 starting option, has averaged a modest 135 innings the past four years (he's never made it to 181 innings) and Sasaki dealt with some durability issues through his Japanese career, so it's likely this duo — actually the entire Los Angeles staff — will be handled very carefully during the regular season. The Dodgers can act like they're already in the playoffs, and run with essentially a six-man rotation during the year. Los Angeles also boosted the bullpen, adding Tanner Scott to presumably close and Kirby Yates as an impact bridge reliever. Slugging outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was retained as well.

  • SP Max Fried signs with Yankees

  • RP Devin Williams traded to Yankees

  • 1B Paul Goldschmidt signs with Yankees

  • OF Cody Bellinger traded to Yankees

The Yanks were beaten in the Juan Soto chase but cry no tears for them, as they made a handful of impactful moves. Eight years probably sounds ambitious for Fried given that he's entering his age-31 season, but New York will be happy if he's merely productive for the front of the contract. Williams was dynamic in a partial season last year (excuse the playoff hiccup) and has a decent shot at 40 saves and is ranked accordingly. Goldschmidt and Bellinger will slot in the middle of the order, with Bellinger an especially key left-handed addition with the loss of Soto. Bellinger is merely entering his age-29 season; Goldschmidt is eight years older.

The Cubs are essentially playing the game the Yanks ran with Soto last year — add a young star in his walk season and see if you can get him excited about sticking around. Injuries held Tucker to half a season last year, though it was the best slash line of his career. He's a five-category talent and belongs in the first round of any draft; it's likely we haven't seen Tucker's best season yet. The ballpark switch could be a mild drag on Tucker's power, though the weather patterns in Chicago are unpredictable, year over year.

We saw this same type of move eight years ago, when the Red Sox loaded up the truck for Chris Sale, in his prime. Crochet also comes over from the White Sox, and is actually two years younger (he turns 26 in June) than Sale was for the 2017 transaction. Crochet is under team control until 2027 and has the knockout stuff to dominate anywhere, though the ballpark change to Fenway Park will exact some tax. Boston moved impact prospects in this trade, but it has to be thrilled that it didn't lose the jewels of the system, especially top-rated outfielder Roman Anthony. Crochet, a consensus top-10 option, is someone who can help anchor a fantasy staff.

Houston needed to add an impact bat with the loss of Tucker, and Walker should offset some of that blow — though he's stepping into his age-34 season. He's been remarkably consistent over the last three years, with an OPS+ between 121 and 125 in every campaign. He's also a plus defender, if that matters to you. Walker, who remains a top-10 ranked first baseman, will probably slot behind offensive demigod Yordan Álvarez, but the bottom of the Houston lineup is weaker than it's looked in several seasons.

Adames picked a lovely time for a career year, turning it into a seven-year, $182 package with the Giants. Adames could be a tricky pick for fantasy purposes, moving to a roomier park and settling in with a team that runs far less aggressively than the Brewers did. He's a fringe top-10 fantasy shortstop at a loaded position.

Toronto has been an aggressive bidder for several name free agents in recent years, so it's refreshing to see the Jays actually land someone. Santander's 44 home runs didn't completely pass the smell test last year — according to Baseball Savant, he should have clubbed 7.4 fewer home runs — but the ballpark change from Baltimore to Toronto is a theoretical boost.

None of these players rank inside our consensus top 150 at the moment, but are worth watching.

  • Walker Buehler signed a one-year pillow deal with the Red Sox, while Justin Verlander took one year with the Giants.

  • Tyler O'Neill has a jagged platoon split, but the Orioles gave him a juicy three-year deal and will play him every day, with 30-plus homers likely.

  • Ryan Pressly was traded to the Cubs and will compete for saves, though Porter Hodge is also in the mix.

  • Toronto gave a three-year, $44 million deal to Jeff Hoffman, which obviously tickets him as a closer. But it's interesting that Atlanta and Baltimore backed away from Hoffman offers, showing concern for his medicals.

  • The Mets believed in Sean Manaea's comeback season, giving him a three-year package worth $75 million. He might be the starter on opening day.

  • A solid 12 years after he was the darling prospect in all of baseball, Jurickson Profar finally had a breakout year. The free-agent market was cool to Profar for a while, but he eventually found a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves. Profar slots into a corner outfield spot, which means Jarred Kelenic has nowhere to play if Ronald Acuña Jr. (knee) is healthy.

  • Key free agents still unsigned include 3B Alex Bregman, 1B Pete Alonso, SP Jack Flaherty and SP Max Scherzer.