MLB Power Rankings: Every team’s plan of attack before the trade deadline
By Sean Sears
6. Oakland Athletics, 56-42, 2nd in the AL West (ranked 7th last week)
Oakland added much-needed depth with the Homer Bailey trade, but they could still use improvement, as the rest of their group has been great but also outperforming all season long and regression is likely coming. Without Frankie Montas, who is eligible to return after his suspension for PEDs but won’t be postseason-eligible, the A’s need more help in the rotation.
Lefty starter Sean Manaea and OF Stephen Piscotty are close to returning (Manea likely not until August), but the A’s farmhands like AJ Puk and the injured Jesus Luzardo aren’t quite ready to be promoted. Oakland has intriguing pieces, but with most of their top talented prospects dealing with injuries or suspended, theymight be selling low on these prospects without losing value for a rental.
5. New York Yankees, 63-33, 1st in AL East (ranked 3rd last week)
The Yankees have been linked to most starters and both Marcus Stroman and Madison Bumgarner are on their radar, but they’ve also been rumored to be interested in Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer, Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks, and even some sleeper moves like the Giants’ Jeff Samardzija or the Rockies’ Jon Gray.
New York has plenty of depth they can move for one of those arms. Ideally, they’d like to add Stroman or Bumgarner, but if they wanted to avoid moving pieces like Clint Frazier or Gio Urshela, they could go for a lower-tier arm and keep their depth intact.
The Yankees made a small move in adding lefty reliever Dan Jennings to add a second middle-relief lefty behind Zack Britton. But beyond a starter, the Yankees don’t need help on the offensive side of the ball and their bullpen might be the most stacked group in baseball. Add in another starter at the level of Mad-Bum or Stroman and this Yankee club is easily the best team in baseball.