Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer: Players to acquire (and three to deal away) before MLB's second half

When analyzing the Yahoo Trade Market, July should be considered a second version of April by fantasy managers. In April, wise managers strive to make two-for-one or three-for-one deals to acquire the best player while clearing the necessary roster space to take advantage of a fruitful waiver wire. The plan should be similar this month, as extra roster spots can be used to pick up players who could thrive after the trade deadline.

For this reason, my best advice here is to seek out trades lopsided in numbers and then use the created roster space to grab closers-in-waiting on non-contending teams or skilled backups sitting behind a trade candidate. After all, the most successful managers are those who formulate a plan to have the waiver wire and trade market work in conjunction with each other.

Players to acquire

Corbin Carroll (OF, Arizona Diamondbacks)

Carroll has been a top-five player this season, having hit .289 with 18 homers and 26 stolen bases. With a strong finish to the season, he could go as high as No. 2 overall in 2024 drafts. But the 22-year-old has dealt with shoulder issues twice this month, narrowly avoiding the injured list on both occasions. Fantasy managers who need to boldly rise up the standings should use Carroll’s recent shoulder injuries to acquire him at a slight discount before crossing their fingers that he remains injury-free.

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Although I put Carroll in the “players to acquire” section, there are some circumstances in which managers might be wise to trade him. Those who already have a significant lead, both in the overall standings and steals category, might wish to rid themselves of the risk associated with the speedster’s shoulder by swapping him for a healthier player with a skill set that fits a specific area of need.

Pete Alonso (1B, New York Mets)

Simply put, Alonso has been unlucky this year. Although predictably awesome from a power perspective (26 HRs in 82 games), the slugger has been dealt the lowest BABIP of any qualified player en route to posting a career-worst .211 batting mark. And his worst play has come of late, having hit .147 with a .611 OPS since he returned from the IL on June 18. The plan for Alonso trade talks is to toss out the opinion that he isn’t fully healthy before picking him up for a good-but-not-great return package.

Max Scherzer (SP, New York Mets)

There is a scenario in which the ultra-competitive Scherzer is revitalized by a trade to a contending team at the end of this month and goes on a stretch-run tear. The 38-year-old has been disappointing so far this season, posting a 4.31 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP while sitting 270th on the Yahoo Player Rater. Those looking for a pitching spark could acquire Scherzer at a reasonable trade price right now and hope for a repeat of his 2021 stretch run, when he went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP and an 89:8 K:BB ratio after being traded to the Dodgers. Even if Scherzer stays in New York, he might thrive through the pressure of trying to help an underachieving Mets squad surge to a postseason berth.

Players to trade away

Scott Barlow (RP, Kansas City Royals)

Those who roster Barlow and are not completely desperate for saves should try to trade him now. The lowly Royals resisted dealing the right-hander last season, but they remain miles away from contending and are likely to trade him for prospects at the end of this month. Unlike higher-profile closers who could be moved, such as Josh Hader, Barlow lacks the résumé to be guaranteed a ninth-inning role on a contending team, and he could populate fantasy waiver wires in early August.

Kyle Finnegan (RP, Washington Nationals)

Everything I said about Barlow applies to Finnegan, who has been great of late (1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP since May 7) but lacks the résumé to receive ninth-inning opportunities on a contending team. Finnegan managers who can spare a few July saves can trade him for any player whom they envision remaining on their roster throughout the second half.

Cody Bellinger (1B/OF, Chicago Cubs)

Bellinger’s surface stats (9 HR, 11 SB, .298 BA) paint an optimistic picture that he is in the midst of a bounce-back season. But the underlying numbers are less rosy, including an 86.6 mph average exit velocity and a .248 xBA. Bellinger could experience regression in the second half, and the situation might be exasperated if he is traded at the deadline and fails to find a comfort zone with his new team.