We’re a lucky lot, us fantasy managers.
MLB teams face an annual end-of-July (give or take a few days, depending on which day of the week July 31 lands) trade deadline, meaning any significant moves they wish to do to shore up their rosters for the stretch run must be completed with barely two-thirds of the season in the books.
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We’re more fortunate in most fantasy leagues, but especially in ESPN standard formats, where our own trade deadlines arrive Aug. 15 at noon ET. We’ve got ourselves another nine days to improve our rosters for a final championship push.
So… what are you doing over these next nine days to improve your team?
My A-No. 1 piece of advice to a team seeking to make a big splash on the trade front: Aim high.
Again, 70% of the season is now in the books — the league passed that threshold Tuesday night — meaning rotisserie league standings are solidifying and much tougher to shift in the time remaining, while schedules in head-to-head leagues have only three or four weeks (three in ESPN’s standard, counting the current one) left in the regular season. If you intend to dramatically shake up the standings, you’re going to need that much greater an impact player than you would have required back in May.
This week, let’s identify six proven strong finishers you should prioritize with your trade proposals. Next week, I’ll offer my favorite “hunch” stretch-run trade targets.
Historical late-season standouts to acquire
Sticking with the theme of “going big,” history shows us that a handful of players typically step up with their best performances over the season’s final weeks. Every one of these six players will cost you a premium, but if the requested trade return looks even remotely reasonable (and check my rankings to assist in this process), then make the deal.
Julio Rodriguez, OF, Seattle Mariners: Across the Mariners’ final 48 games of his first three MLB seasons (precisely the number of games that remain for them in 2025), Rodriguez has averaged 3.30 fantasy points, the seventh-best rate among hitters with at least 50 total games played during that specific stretch of schedule. (Care to guess the six ahead of him? Think about it, and we’ll give you the answer at the end of this column.)
Keeping in mind that Rodriguez has been a historically better rotisserie than points-based fantasy player, with three top-30 overall Player Rater rankings (including 2025) among his four seasons, but only once even a top-30 hitter fantasy point total (2023, when he placed 17th on that side), that’s quite a late-season track record for him. “J-Rod” is already showing signs of a statistical uptick, with nine homers, six steals and .295/.340/.648 rates over his last 21 games, his Mariners made significant supporting deadline deals, and they also face one of the league’s softest remaining schedules.
Blake Snell, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: Ready for a wild stat? Across his teams’ final 48 games over the past three seasons — again, the number of games that now remains for the Dodgers — Snell has scored 490 fantasy points, most among pitchers and third-most in all of baseball (Shohei Ohtani, 609; Aaron Judge, 494). But that’s not all: Snell’s 1,012 career points during that same schedule segment ranks third among pitchers (Gerrit Cole, 1,084; Justin Verlander, 1,049).
Yes, this is Snell’s time of year, and he looked solid in his return from the IL this past Saturday (95.0 mph average fastball, 36% whiff rate on non-fastballs, both within range of his prior norms). He’s the ultimate risk/reward trade acquisition: a pitcher you can reasonably afford thanks to his checkered injury history, but also the precise high-ceiling type you should want.
Kyle Schwarber, DH, Philadelphia Phillies: If Snell’s stats don’t wow you, Schwarber’s might. The Phillies slugger has hit at least 10 home runs in each of the last three Septembers, making him one of just 12 players in history who can claim at least three such final regular-season months. The fact that Schwarber accomplished that feat in three consecutive Septembers puts him on an exclusive list with only Hank Greenberg (1937-40, four in a row) and Mark McGwire (1997-99).
From a fantasy angle, Schwarber joins Judge as the only players with at least 75 points in each of those same three Septembers. Yes, competitive late-season Phillies baseball has been good to Schwarber, who will cost you a premium due to his scorching hot streak (.282/.378/.755 with 15 homers since July 1), but his torrid track record makes him a must-get for teams in need of power. By the way, he’s playing for a contract this winter.
Editor’s Picks
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Max Fried, SP, New York Yankees: His Yankees are mired in a miserable slump, in part due to his own recent contributions (5.81 ERA across his past six starts), but you might be able to use that to coax his current manager to trade him to you at a discounted price. Fried will play a critical part in any Yankee rebound, and he has an astonishing stretch-run track record that fantasy owners need to recognize.
His 16.29 fantasy points-per-start from team game No. 115 forward (exactly where his Yankees are in the current schedule) across the past four seasons (2021-24) are second-best in baseball behind only Snell’s 17.50. Fried played a significant part in propelling his Atlanta Braves into the playoffs in each of those years, and his current team is in a similar make-or-break position. Strike now while the perceived value of Yankees players is at a low point.
Matt Olson, 1B, Braves: A fellow “Mr. September,” Olson’s 616 fantasy points across his teams’ final 50 games over the last four seasons — that’s the Braves’ remaining amount — were third-best behind only Judge’s 697 and Juan Soto’s 656. Sure, this season’s stretch-run circumstances are different, with Olson’s Braves looking like distant playoff long shots, but it’s not like his team’s competitive state has influenced his competitive drive during the concluding weeks historically.
In 2017, 2021 and 2024 — all seasons in which his teams either missed the playoffs outright or backed their way into October — he averaged 149 fantasy points per year and 3.18 per game. Perhaps the non-competitive status of Olson’s Braves might price him at a trade discount.
Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks: The wild card on the list, Gallen is in similar circumstances to Olson in that his team is in “playoff longshot” status. But unlike Olson, Gallen has pitched poorly for much of the year, his 7.48 fantasy points-per-start average ranks 55th among 63 ERA qualifiers. That makes him relatively easy to acquire and, considering both his looming free agent status and his extensive track record of late-season success, he’s well worth taking the chance. From 2022-24, Gallen’s 424 fantasy points across his team’s final 48 games (Arizona’s remaining total) was third-best among pitchers (Snell, 490; Cole, 466).
*Oh, and the names of the six players who have exceeded Rodriguez’s rate? Ronald Acuna Jr. (3.67), Ohtani (3.59), Judge (3.55), Alex Bregman (3.37), Yordan Alvarez (3.37) and Mookie Betts (3.31).
