FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Xander Bogaerts (SS Padres): Rostered in 29 percent of Yahoo leagues
It’s mostly about matchups with 2 1/2 weeks left to go in the 2026 season, and Bogaerts and the Padres have a great one with four games in Coors Field against the Rockies to begin next week. That’ll be followed by three home games against the Marlins, which isn’t quite so great, especially with Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcantara both slated to start, but at least it’s still a seven-game week.
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Assuming that Ty France is gone in most competitive leagues at this point, Bogaerts is probably the most available Padres hitter worth targeting. It’s been a dreary year for the 33-year-old shortstop, whose .219 average, .319 OBP and .320 slugging percentage are all far and away career lows. The funny thing, though, is that none of the decline shows up in his exit velocity numbers. His average bat speed is actually slightly up from the last two years, and his 41 percent hard-hit rate is his high mark since 2021. His career hard-hit rate is 37 percent. He’s also matched his career high from last year with his 20 steals.
For what it’s worth, Bogaerts did do well in his previous series at Coors this year, going 5-for-11 with a homer. He’s hit .361 with six homers in 21 career games there. In spite of his struggles this year, he hardly ever sits. It probably won’t be worth holding on to him for the final week of the season when the Padres play the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, but he’s a nice choice next week.
Will Warren (SP Yankees): Rostered in 45 percent of Yahoo leagues
The Yankees have kept threatening to drop Warren from the rotation, but every time it has seemed like it’s going to happen, someone goes down. Most recently, it was Ryan Weathers who had to be placed on the injured list with a flexor strain. Warren, who opened the year 7-1 with a 3.22 ERA before struggling in June and July, put together a statement start against the Red Sox after Weathers went down, only to find himself piggybacking Max Fried last time out and getting lifted after 2 1/3 scoreless innings. That, at least, was mostly a reaction to the Yankees having two off days in quick succession. Warren will find himself back in the rotation to face the Rockies on Wednesday and will probably get another start next Monday against the Twins.
Warren’s turnaround outing came on Aug. 30, when he pitched seven innings of one-run ball to help the Yankees clinch the season series and claim the tiebreaker against Boston. It helped a bunch that he had his best fastball since mid-April. Even though he was pitching on four days’ rest, he averaged 94.4 mph for seven innings, a 1.2-mph gain from his previous three starts. Other than his lone one-inning relief appearance in July, it’s the hardest he had thrown in 4 1/2 months. Warren threw even harder while getting seven outs Friday against the Padres, averaging 95.1 mph. He’s not going to maintain that in a full start, but it bodes well for him chances of putting together an outing similar to the one he had against Boston.
Unfortunately, Warren is probably going to be good for just the two starts. Unless another starter gets hurt, Warren is headed to the bullpen for the postseason, and the Yankees will probably want to spend the final week getting him ready for a relief role. He’s well worth using until it happens, though.
Michael Conforto (OF Cubs): Rostered in one percent of Yahoo leagues
If anyone had been willing to bet on Conforto as a platoon regular last winter after his down season with the Dodgers, they probably would have been rewarded with 25 homers and 80 RBI. The Cubs, though, never planned on carving out that kind of role for him after signing him to a minor league deal in late February. It’s been up to Conforto to force the issue, and he has been seeing more time at DH while going 11-for-26 with four homers and a 4/4 K/BB in his last 12 appearances. It makes him look like a decent option ahead of the Pirates series starting Friday.
Conforto only plays against righties, of course, but it looks like the Cubs will face seven in nine games in home series against the Pirates and Braves and then a road trip to Cincinnati. Barring a rotation shakeup, they’ll miss Chris Sale in the Atlanta series. Getting six or seven starts would be sufficient to make Conforto useful if he keeps swinging the bat like this. Since Aug. 21, only the amazing Mickey Gasper has more plate appearances with a higher xwOBA than Conforto’s .486 mark.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
– The Brewers’ Cooper Pratt (seven percent rostered) did a fair amount of sitting initially after coming off the injured list last month, but he’s now started five straight games and eight of nine and is hitting .353 with a homer, 11 RBI and three steals since Aug. 25. He’s a nice pickup for those looking for steals, especially with a series against the Pirates coming up and Pittsburgh often playing Rafael Flores Jr. behind the plate.
– Emmet Sheehan fanned 10 in his return to the Dodgers rotation on Monday and is due to start again Sunday against the Marlins. Like Warren, he might wind up finishing the season in a relief role, but he’s a fine choice this weekend.
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