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MLB power rankings: Giants, Cardinals, Indians surging before trade deadline

By Sean Sears

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 25: Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 25, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 25: Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 25, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JULY 24: San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar (1) follows through on a swing during a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 24, 2019, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Jay Anderson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JULY 24: San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar (1) follows through on a swing during a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 24, 2019, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Jay Anderson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

14. San Francisco Giants, 52-51, 2nd in the NL West (ranked 18th last week)

Winners of 17 of their last 21 games, the Giants may have officially closed the door as San Francisco as sellers and given them a chance to keep the team together for manager Bruce Bochy’s final season. They haven’t lost a series in over the last 30 days and just took two of three from the Cubs who were 7-2 since the All-Star break. Didn’t matter, the Giants stole two more games and barring any last-second collapses, they’re likely going to hold on to guys like Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith.

That’s terrible news for teams searching for pitching help because the Giants have an assortment of pitchers that rival teams have admired from afar. Of course, the Giant’s President Farhan Zaidi has yet to say which direction is team is leaning towards, but there is a lot of sentimental feelings towards this club, especially with Bochy retiring after this season.

But this club is only a month removed from looking like one of the worst teams in baseball and truly need a facelift in terms of young, controllable talent. With only two top 100 prospects in their system, according to MLB Pipeline, getting an influx of young, cheap talent added to their roster that’s saddled with veterans on large contracts makes too much sense for the Giants.

13. Philadelphia Phillies, 54-48, 3rd in the NL East (ranked 14th last week)

The Phillies have picked up the pace recently, winning seven of their last 10 games and moving a half-game behind the Cardinals for the final Wild Card spot in the NL. But even with the Phillies making strides towards a postseason push, GM Matt Klentak is holding a conservative approach at the deadline.

Klentak is still hunting for upgrades but also keeping in mind that the club is 5.5 games back in the division, which doesn’t allow him and the front office to go after top talent as aggressively as they might want to. There was a report from Jim Salisbury from NBC Sports Philadelphia that linked the Phillies to Matt Boyd and Shane Greene of the Tigers after the two clubs faced-off earlier this week. The question will be how can the Phillies give up and how much they should give up trying to improve the current roster.

The Phillies have a competitive window that should remain open for a few seasons, moving pieces that fit into that window to try and go all-in now doesn’t seem to align with this current group, which is causing the Phillies to think twice before pulling the trigger.

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