MLB Power Rankings: Post Trade Deadline edition
By John Buhler
15. Seattle Mariners
14. New York Mets
13. Houston Astros
12. St. Louis Cardinals
11. Miami Marlins
10. Boston Red Sox
9. Detroit Tigers
8. Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Toronto Blue Jays
6. Baltimore Orioles
5. San Francisco Giants
4. Washington Nationals
With these 12 MLB teams, there is an aura of confidence that with the right acquisition in a trade deadline deal that any one of these clubs can ascend to postseason relevancy and have themselves a nice October should they qualify for the 2016 MLB postseason.
That being said, most of these teams seem to be either missing a key piece or two or just haven’t quite gelled like a World Series contender tends to do throughout the regular season. Given that it’s an even year, the San Francisco Giants are certainly a playoff caliber team and could very much win their fourth World Series Championship in seven seasons.
Perhaps the team that has surprised us all to be in the top half of baseball has been the Detroit Tigers. 2015 was a year of immense dysfunction for the Tigers, but have seemed to have replaced where many though their American League Central rival Minnesota Twins would be at this juncture.
The Seattle Mariners have been middle of the pack all season. Given that they hold the longest active postseason drought (since 2001), they get the benefit of the doubt and appear as a fringe American League Wild Card contender.
The 2016 St. Louis Cardinals are nothing special, but are still in the mix for a Wild Card spot in the National League thanks to great organizational culture. The Miami Marlins are better than expected. Teams like the Washington Nationals, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Baltimore Orioles have at least a League Championship Series ceiling. To be fair, they are probably good enough to play in a World Series if given the right matchups in this upcoming postseason.
Next: No. 3.