Trade deadline fill-ins, 2025
Jul 9 2025
With the MLB trade deadline around three weeks away, throwing speculative darts at the "next men up"—those who fill vacated spots left by a departing starter—ahead of time can be a profitable endeavor.
A few years ago, Jeff Zimmerman researched the odds of a player being traded based on the annual MLBTradeRumors.com (MLBTR) Top 50 Trade Candidates list. As a quick refresher, here are Jeff's findings on those trade odds ("Trade Rate") from his 2021 update based on MLBTR's list from 2016-19:
Rather than blindly speculate on where these players might go, we’ll take an alternate approach by focusing on the most attractive fill-ins for those most likely to be dealt. We'll group these players by hitter/pitcher and sort them by...
Almost!
You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
More From Speculator
We continue the rookie class check-in outside the Top 25 in this year's HQ100.
Jul 29 2026 3:09am
Jul 29 2026 3:09am
We check in on the Top 25 preseason prospects who have made their MLB debut so far, and speculate on their outlooks moving forward.
Jul 22 2026 3:06am
Jul 22 2026 3:06am
How much can we trust certain pitchers entering uncharted workload territory in the second half?
Jul 15 2026 3:07am
Jul 15 2026 3:07am
Aroldis Chapman is likely on the move, but instead of speculating on where he might go, we'll dive into potential fill-ins.
Jul 8 2026 3:07am
Jul 8 2026 3:07am
A retrospective look at first-half all-stars taken late in drafts, including CHW duo Miguel Vargas and Sam Antonacci.
Jul 1 2026 3:06am
Jul 1 2026 3:06am
