With the MLB trade deadline squarely in the rearview mirror, which teams went up or down in this week's MLB Power Rankings?
It's been nearly a week since all of the dust from the MLB trade deadline settled, and we now know which teams strengthened their rosters for a postseason run in 2023 and which ones are looking ahead to which prospects can impact them in 2024.
So where are the 30 MLB teams landing in this week's MLB power rankings? Let's dive in and see.
MLB Power Rankings: 30. Oakland Athletics
What's the good news? The A's crossed the 30-win plateau for the season by winning a series in Denver against the Colorado Rockies. The bad news? Oakland followed that by getting swept by the Dodgers in Los Angeles and designating one of the most popular players for assignment in Ramón Laureano after the trade deadline concluded. The move was confusing, part of a head-scratching season for so many A's fans.
MLB Power Rankings: 29. Kansas City Royals
Being hit on the hand could have been a season-ender for veteran catcher Salvador Perez on Sunday, but X-rays proved negative in Philadelphia after the game. It continues a season of good things for the Royals, who have won seven of their last nine games.
MLB Power Rankings: 28. Washington Nationals
How about the Nationals, pulling off the three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend? Washington has won five of its last six games, and now heads to Philadelphia for a four-game series against the Phillies starting on Monday. Can the Nationals keep being a pest for teams with postseason aspirations?
MLB Power Rankings: 27. Colorado Rockies
Talk about rewinding the clock, the Rockies went into St. Louis over the weekend and took two of three games against the Cardinals, snapping a 12-game losing streak in St. Louis and winning the franchise's first series there since 2009. Granted, it wasn't a strong Cardinals team (we'll get into that shortly), but Colorado used six scoreless innings from Austin Gomber, acquired by the Rockies in the Nolan Arenado trade, on Sunday to help secure the series win.
MLB Power Rankings: 26. Detroit Tigers
Comerica Park hasn't been kind to the Tigers this season, with Sunday's 10-6 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays dropping Detroit to 23-32 in the Motor City. With the Minnesota Twins coming in four games starting on Monday, is that a good sign for the division-leading Twins to actually face the Tigers on the road?
MLB Power Rankings: 25. Chicago White Sox
Sorry, you won't find any Tim Anderson jokes here, but doesn't the former All-Star infielder starting a fight and then getting sent to the dirt by a punch kind of symbolize Chicago's 2023 season? Many thought the White Sox might be able to rebound this season, but they've been down and out most of the campaign. A free agent in 2024, will this be the biggest memory of Anderson in a White Sox uniform?
MLB Power Rankings: 24. New York Mets
The Mets were sellers at the trade deadline, sending away a pair of veteran pitchers in Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander who were supposed to be the arms that led New York back to the postseason in 2023. Oh how things changed. Now the big question becomes will owner Steve Cohen be willing to spend again big this offseason, perhaps even chasing Shohei Ohtani?
MLB Power Rankings: 23. St. Louis Cardinals
Speaking of teams that weren't expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, the shocking fall for St. Louis this season has been a gut punch for the Best Fans in Baseball. Now the question becomes will they do enough next offseason to rebuild for 2024. Until then, Cardinals fans can only watch as their team continues to stumble through the rest of the schedule. Will Adam Wainwright win his 200th game?
MLB Power Rankings: 22. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates haven't dropped a series since falling to the Los Angeles Angels on the road between July 21-23. Despite selling off some of their assets at the MLB trade deadline, including sending Rich Hill and Ji-Man Choi to the San Diego Padres, the Pirates are holding their own … but a tough stretch awaits this week with the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds visiting PNC Park.
MLB Power Rankings: 21. Los Angeles Angels
Did the Angels make a mistake going for it at the MLB trade deadline? There's no way to paint a rosy picture after getting swept in a four-game series at home by division rival Seattle, with the Mariners hopping over them in the AL West and Wild Card chase. While the Angels wanted to show Ohtani they could be winners, going 0-for-August isn't helping in that quest.
MLB Power Rankings: 20. Cleveland Guardians
What Cleveland did at the trade deadline was a head-shaker as the team sent starting pitcher Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays and then kicked the tires on Noah Syndergaard to see if Thor had anything left in the tank with a trade that sent Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Are any of those moves enough to get Cleveland to the top of the AL Central? It sure doesn't feel like it.
MLB Power Rankings: 19. Arizona Diamondbacks
Is there a team that has regressed since the All-Star break more than Arizona? The Diamondbacks looked to be an up-and-coming squad when the Midsummer Classic kicked off, but Arizona hasn't won yet in August and went just 5-11 to finish off July. San Francisco has passed them in the NL West standings and San Diego is now breathing down their necks. Can Arizona rediscover its magic?
MLB Power Rankings: 18. Boston Red Sox
Boston has lost four in a row and could be getting a fruit basket from the Los Angeles Dodgers after being willing to trade Kiké Hernandez back to L.A., where he has become a spark plug for the Dodgers. Things sure don't sound good between Alex Cora and Alex Verdugo, which means Boston will be dealing with a distraction as they try to figure out if the return of Trevor Story and Chris Sale can make them a postseason team.
MLB Power Rankings: 17. New York Yankees
Anthony Rizzo's concussion came back into the forefront after being quiet since his mid-May collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. Now with Rizzo out and Aaron Boone looking at yet another black mark this season, is there anything that really inspires Yankees fans to think this team is built for October? An uninspiring trade deadline sure doesn't make it seem that way.
MLB Power Rankings: 16. Seattle Mariners
After hosting the All-Star Game, Seattle has decided it is going to be an agent of chaos as the postseason picture continues to form. They've won five straight and are a serious contender to grab a Wild Card spot if they can do some damage at home this week against the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles.
MLB Power Rankings: 15. Minnesota Twins
The Twins didn't do much at the MLB trade deadline, but perhaps the Twins feel like they have everything they need already in house to win the AL Central? Minnesota is 5-1 in August and has opened up a 4.5-game lead on the Guardians in the division, so Minnesota holding on to its prospects and putting the pedal down toward winning the division seems to be the plan in the Twin Cities.
MLB Power Rankings: 14. Chicago Cubs
Are they buyers? Are they sellers? The Cubs kept plenty of people guessing until word came down that Cody Bellinger would not be traded. Once that was known, there wasn't much suspense around Marcus Stroman perhaps moving. However, with him now on the injured list, it's going to take more of the offense (and newly acquired Jeimer Candelario) to lead Chicago to the postseason.
MLB Power Rankings: 13. Miami Marlins
The Marlins were very active at the trade deadline, showing that they believe they can be a force if they can grab one of the Wild Card spots. With Philadelphia also battling for the postseason and the Braves in the division as well, if Miami can turn some of its moves at the deadline into some wins in the division as the schedule, that's a positive. However, losing two of three to Philly and getting swept by the Rangers in Texas certainly didn't help.
MLB Power Rankings: 12. Cincinnati Reds
The youth movement in Cincinnati is facing its first true test after losing its first six games of August. With Miami coming into Cincinnati for three games to begin the week, it will be interesting to see which of the two franchises badly in need of a series win come away with one. The Sam Moll addition to the bullpen wasn't much at all at the deadline. Will the Reds regret being so quiet?
MLB Power Rankings: 11. Philadelphia Phillies
Getting Michael Lorenzen at the trade deadline could prove to be one of the best deals of any team. If Philadelphia can stretch out its rotation and still have arms heading into the postseason that aren't exhausted, is anyone going to put it past them to make another run to the World Series?
MLB Power Rankings: 10. San Diego Padres
Some of the biggest news for the Padres came before the trade deadline (when the team caught fire and seemingly convinced general manager A.J. Preller that they should indeed be buyers) and after the trade deadline, when Joe Musgrove's shoulder soreness landed him on the injured list. The Padres are hoping he returns this season, and San Diego would need him back to be a serious postseason contender.
MLB Power Rankings: 9. Toronto Blue Jays
Just call the Blue Jays the Northern Cardinals after a trade deadline where St. Louis and Toronto made multiple trades, with Jordan Hicks bringing his velocity to the Toronto bullpen among other moves. A sweep of Boston over the weekend has Toronto right in the thick of the AL East and the Wild Card chase. Can the Blue Jays live up to their potential and enter the postseason looking like a team that could challenge Houston for the AL title?
MLB Power Rankings: 8. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers boosted their lineup with Mark Canha and Carlos Santana, then added Andrew Chafin into the bullpen. Milwaukee was more active at the trade deadline than Cincinnati. Will that give the Brewers the edge in the race for the NL Central? With three home games against Colorado and three road games against the White Sox this week, Milwaukee should be able to flex some muscles.
MLB Power Rankings: 7. San Francisco Giants
One of the haunting questions of the trade deadline will be, "Why didn't San Francisco do more to improve when it looks like a team that could grab a Wild Card spot?" Adding A.J. Pollock is not a needle-mover, but perhaps with Arizona stumbling and the Padres seemingly unable to get to .500 this season, maybe San Francisco's decision to stay put was the right one.
MLB Power Rankings: 6. Houston Astros
The defending World Champions added Justin Verlander to the rotation. The bullpen also got better with Kendall Graveman coming on board. Add in a healthy Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve and it feels like the Astros are exactly where they want to be (and that's prepared for battle in October) as the dog days of August kick into high gear.
MLB Power Rankings: 5. Tampa Bay Rays
Getting Aaron Civale and his team control from the Guardians was another shrewd move from a franchise that seems to find a way to win deals. The Rays and Guardians will reacquaint themselves with each other this week in St. Petersburg after the St. Louis Cardinals pay a three-game visit. It feels like a week when the Rays could get back on track in the win column.
MLB Power Rankings: 4. Texas Rangers
Texas won all six games of its first homestand of August, but lost Josh Jung to a thumb fracture on Sunday. What type of impact that has on the Rangers will be seen this week when Texas takes to the road to face Oakland and San Francisco in a Bay Area two-step. The AL West race between the Astros and Rangers (and maybe even the Mariners) is going to be fun to watch.
MLB Power Rankings: 3. Los Angeles Dodgers
Just when San Diego got a little bit of momentum, here come the Dodgers down Interstate 5 to win the two games of the first three in the four-game set to remind San Diego that absolutely nothing will come easy in the NL West with Los Angeles at the top. The trade deadline was busy, but it will be the impact of Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly that will prove just how successful the moves were for the Dodgers.
MLB Power Rankings: 2. Baltimore Orioles
If Jack Flaherty can be the starting pitcher the Orioles need him to be, Baltimore could be a very dangerous team as October draws near. The young players on Baltimore's roster are believing in themselves, which is a good thing considering the nine-game stretch staring the Orioles in the face (three at home against Houston before three in Seattle and three in San Diego).
MLB Power Rankings: 1. Atlanta Braves
A series loss to the Cubs at Wrigley over the weekend isn't that big of a deal, but the Braves are 10-10 in the second half of the season. It feels like more of a dip in the road than something to be worried about, but we'll know more after Atlanta has eight games over the week in Pittsburgh and Queens against the Mets. Those are winnable games, especially for a team that still looks like the favorite in the National League to reach the World Series.
