Once MLB players hit the age of 35, they often get overlooked by fantasy baseball managers for their injury concerns, lack of production, and rotated out of the lineup. There have been several veterans in years past who have defied their age and exceeded expectations. We’ll be looking at 5 players over 35 who are still worth drafting in fantasy baseball and would make a good addition to your teams.
5 Players Over 35 to Draft in Fantasy Baseball
Paul Goldschmidt: 1B, New York Yankees (37 Years Old)
After spending the first 14 years of his career in the National League, Paul Goldschmidt made the switch to the AL, signing with the New York Yankees on a one-year, $12.5 million deal. Goldschmidt did not leave on his own accord as it was the St. Louis Cardinals who decided to part ways with the veteran 1st baseman after he had career worsts in strikeouts, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage in 2024. A move to the Yankees can help bring his home run hitting back up since Yankee Stadium is a top 3 ballpark for home runs over the last 3 years according to Statcast Park Factors.
Goldschmidt might only be on a one-year deal in his age-37 season, but he’s going to prove why he still has some juice left in the tank and can very well see some major league action in his 40s. If you’re looking for a sleeper first baseman, the 7-time All-Star is on our list. He’s currently being ranked around the 14th / 15th best 1st baseman in fantasy and we’re willing to pay the premium as a high-end backup or a low-end starter.
Kenley Jansen: RP, Los Angeles Angels (37 Years Old)
Despite playing for the Boston Red Sox for the last 2 years, an organization who’s been on the decline over the last decade, Kenley Jansen still managed to finish top 13 in the league in saves. This past offseason, Jansen signed a one-year $10 million deal to go to another organization that knows what it’s like to lose with the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels might be bad, but this isn’t going to slow down Jansen from doing what he does best and that’s closing out games.
Jansen is the active leader in saves and pitching appearances with 447 and 871 respectively. Jansen is closing in on 500 career saves, something that will put him in select company with two of the all-time greats in Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman. We don’t think he’ll get there this year with another disappointing year in store for the Angels, but he should still finish as a top-15 closer in saves around the 21 to 23 save mark. For this alone, in fantasy leagues that have saves as a category, he instantly brings a boost to your roster for a low price.
Kirby Yates: RP, Los Angeles Dodgers (37 Years Old)
In his one & only year in Texas and age-37 season, Kirby Yates proved age is just a number and had the lowest ERA of his entire career at only 1.17. His dominant performance in 2024, earned him his second All-Star nomination to go with another career-best number of 3.3 WAR. Yates heads into 2025 with a bit of uncertainty around what his role will be as the Dodgers have a crowded bullpen and seem to be opting toward a committee approach with Yates & Tanner Scott splitting closer duties. As fans of baseball, this move makes sense for the Dodgers & allows both the 30+ year-old pitchers to not overwork themselves.
As fantasy baseball managers, we’re not in love with this decision as it brings more questions than answers. Having to choose between the two relief pitchers, we’re opting for Kirby Yates who had a more dominant 2024 campaign than Scott. Scott is ranked nearly 10 closers ahead of Yates, but Yates is the much better value for your team & can end up being one of the biggest steals of the 2025 fantasy baseball season. Scott is coming off the best season of his career where he finished with 22 saves split between his time in Miami & San Diego. Yates is coming off a better season where he finished with 33 saves and an ERA of only 1.17, a career-best. We’re opting for Yates who should edge out Scott for the primary closer role by the All-Star break.
Yu Darvish: SP, San Diego Padres (38 Years Old)
A left groin injury and neck tightness might have slowed down Yu Darvish in 2024, but he was on track for a very respectable bounce-back year. Darvish improved his ERA from 4.56 in 2023 to 3.31 in 2024, better than his career average of 3.58. We’re expecting him to have similar ERA numbers in 2025 & increase his innings pitched from 81.2 in 2024 to be in the 115-130 range for the 2025 season if he can remain healthy. In those 81 innings pitched, he averaged almost 1 strikeout per inning which is respectable for a 30+ veteran starter. For deeper leagues where you are able to roster pitchers on the bench, Darvish is worth adding to your rotation to keep your overall ERA lower and put up respectable strikeout numbers.
Jacob DeGrom: SP, Texas Rangers (36 Years Old)
The Texas Rangers made a huge splash during the 2023 offseason signing Jacob DeGrom to a five-year, $185 million deal. DeGrom started off strong with the Rangers posting 45 strikeouts in only 30.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately, in that 6th game, DeGrom tore his UCL and had to undergo Tommy John Surgery which shut him down for the remainder of 2023 and the majority of the 2024 season. At his age, there were concerns if DeGrom would ever be the same again after coming back from Tommy John. He came back in September to appear in 3 games despite only pitching 10.2 innings between those 3 games. He appeared to be back in his true form with 14 strikeouts during that time & an ERA of 1.69.
DeGrom is top of my list of players over 35 to roster in fantasy baseball. He is still a dominant force in the league. The first few games of the season look favorable for DeGrom which should have him start off strong. With a hot start to the season, you might get some offers for DeGrom, but he’s someone we want for the season, especially when it comes time for the fantasy playoffs.
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