MLB power rankings: Giants, Cardinals, Indians surging before trade deadline
By Sean Sears
24. Pittsburgh Pirates, 46-56, 4th in the NL Central (ranked 22nd last week)
Pittsburgh pitching has been a nightmare since Jameson Tallion ended up on the IL back on May 1, starting a slew of injuries in their rotation as Trevor Williams, Jordan Lyles, and Chris Archer all spending time on the IL this year. And when they all returned to the rotation, outside of Jamison who was added to the 60-day IL on July 16, the group has regressed to a staff ERA of 4.95 after being one of the best groups in baseball for the first two months of the season.
The long term effects of Tallion’s elbow is in serious questions right as well, with reports surfacing this week saying his rehab had been put on hold due to pain in his elbow. Tallion did tell Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “This season is probably a wash for me.” OF Gregory Polanco also had his rehab halted while he deals with shoulder inflammation that popped up after rushing back to early for surgery on the shoulder last season.
Polanco is committed to coming back 100 percent healthy this season, but those two don’t seem to be a package deal at the moment. Regardless, Pirates are 2-8 over this last 10 games and have waved the white flag on 2019 whether they want to admit it or not.
23. Colorado Rockies, 48-55, 4th in the NL West (ranked 23rd last week)
The Rockies have managed to win just one game over their last 10 games after facing the Giants, Yankees, and now the Nationals, but it’s clear the Rockies are not going to turn things around in 2019. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the Rockies are willing to listen to offers for veteran OF Charlie Blackmon, who at 32-years-old, is having a great 2019 season but is owed roughly $73 through 2023 with the final two years of his deal being player options.
The Rays and Rangers were two teams Morosi mentioned that make sense in terms of pieces to send, but the Red and Cardinals are two teams that would make sense to be involved for a player like Blackmon. The Rockies also selected the contract of first baseman Yonder Alonso, who had a terrible start to the season with the White Sox, has found success in a very small sample size for Colorado. But, just because the Rockies have attractive pieces doesn’t mean they will sell, as Colorado has been one of the more reluctant groups to move on from their talent over the past decade.