The LIV Golf teams for next year are beginning to take shape, with speculation certainly ramping up regarding trades and potential signings.

LIV Golf is entering a new era. The league has switched its format to 72 hole tournaments, while there are more spots available on the tour. This winter is also the first time that relegation looks set to be properly enforced.

Unfortunately, the moves being made in this off-season have hardly captured the imagination.

In fact, one move in particular looks baffling.

LIV Golf now needs to make a change as Fireballs look set to sanction a bizarre move

According to a report from Ten Golf, Abraham Ancer is set to leave Fireballs to join Torque. Sergio Garcia‘s men will replace Ancer with a returning Luis Masaveu.

The deal makes some sense in ensuring that Garcia is now leading an all Spanish team. Meanwhile, Torque are the team of the Americas, with Ancer joining fellow Mexican Carlos Ortiz, Chilean Joaquín Niemann, and Colombian Sebastián Muñoz.

It is not difficult to see why Torque wanted Ancer. They had to replace the relegated Mito Pereira. And Ancer finished 12th in the individual standings in 2025.

However, what is not clear is what Fireballs are gaining from this move.

Masaveu is a talented prospect. However, he had one top 15 finish in nine starts on LIV this past season. He is highly unlikely to get anywhere near matching Ancer’s level in 2026.

With that in mind, LIV surely now needs to be transparent on why certain moves are happening.

The Fireballs are losing one of the league’s better players and turning to someone whom Garcia decided to replace midway through the season.

Perhaps it is a financial decision. Perhaps Garcia genuinely believes that having Masaveu will reap huge rewards in the future. Perhaps Ancer pushed for the move – though he did previously label the 2017 Masters champion the ideal leader.

But deals like this do nothing to quell the idea that the moves between the teams simply do not matter.

The ridiculous player trade which undermines LIV Golf’s fight for credibility

Back in 2023, the RangeGoats traded Talor Gooch for Matthew Wolff. Gooch had won three times that season and had won the individual title.

Wolff finished 27th.

Wolff has shown in the past that he has real talent. He finished second to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2020 US Open. But his move to LIV has not been particularly successful.

Bubba Watson tried to argue that he wanted to be a mentor to Wolff, hence why he was happy to let Gooch go. But that does not help LIV establish their status as an elite sports league where the teams are absolutely desperate to win.

There should be an obvious reason to fans – love or hate it – that explains the logic behind Fireballs letting Ancer leave to join Torque.

But while LIV guard what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to player trading, this kind of move will continue to make next to no sense to virtually everyone else.