MLB Power Rankings: Where all 30 teams stand after the trade deadline

Another trade deadline is in the books, and as we all expected, the landscape of the league feels a whole lot different now than it did even 24 hours ago. While the richest only got richer when the Los Angeles Dodgers landed Tarik Skubal, we also saw some contenders go for it (hello, Boston Red Sox!), others stand strangely pat (... hello, New York Yankees) and plenty of teams in the middle decide to either buy or sell.

Given all the change we've had to process in the past few days, what better time than to update our MLB power rankings? Spoiler alert: The Dodgers did not drop from No. 1. But there were major risers and fallers based on what happened at the deadline, including a new favorite in the American League and a new NL contender breaking into the inner circle.

30. Los Angeles Angels

• Last week's ranking: 30

Well, the Angels finally chose a direction. Interim GM John Mozeliak took a step toward removing the interim from his title, securing nice returns for both Jose Soriano and reliever Ryan Zeferjahn. Trades involving both Zach Neto and Reid Detmers will almost certainly come over the winter, at which point maybe we'll start to be able to see a path forward for the most dysfunctional franchise in the sport. Hey, baby steps.

–Chris Landers, FanSided.com sports editor

29. Colorado Rockies

• Last week's ranking: 29

Colorado is once again bringing up the rear in the National League standings, but there’s a lot more optimism around this team than existed at the beginning of the year. The Rockies finally have a handful of exciting young prospects joining the fold, and while they could arguably have done more at the deadline, they still got decent returns for Brenton Doyle, Victor Vodnik and Antonio Senzatela. This will be a years-long project, but if Colorado’s management does not completely drop the ball, we could see the Rockies playing meaningful baseball before too long. Just not right now, unfortunately. 

–Christopher Kline, FanSided.com staff writer

28. Athletics

• Last week's ranking: 26

The A's were among the quietest teams at the deadline, but then again, they didn't have very much to sell to contenders with Shea Langeliers out for the year. They could maybe have considered moving another homegrown bat like Tyler Soderstrom or flipping a pitcher like Jeffrey Springs, but nothing materialized. This team will once again try to figure out its pitching staff over the winter, and keep its hitters healthier than they were in 2026.

–CL

27. New York Mets

• Last week's ranking: 28

The Mets fire sale is complete, as David Stearns dismantled the extremely expensive and chronically flawed roster he assembled last winter. Despite landing some promising prospects at the deadline, the vibes in Queens couldn’t be much worse. Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor aren’t going anywhere, and there’s ample excitement about AJ Ewing, Carson Benge and the Mets’ up-and-comers. New York can afford to retool in the offseason and contend in 2027, but the white flag has already been waived on 2026. It’s all about the future. 

–CK

26. San Francisco Giants

• Last week's ranking: 25

A profoundly depressing Giants season took a new turn at the trade deadline, with Buster Posey purging the roster of several assets — and receiving some pretty nice value in return. San Francisco got stuck stuck with their more unwieldy financial investments, such as Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman, but this is an organization turning its full attention to the future. The Giants really needed to restock their farm system, and they went a long way toward doing that at the deadline.

–CK

25. Kansas City Royals

• Last week's ranking: 27

The Royals' front office is as stubborn as they come. They have a generational superstar in Bobby Witt Jr., yet the 2026 team has been anything but stable. Kansas City didn’t want to trade Michael Wacha or Seth Lugo in particular, and preferred to run back their starting rotation next season. Finishing in last place in this AL Central should have required a rebuild, period.

–Mark Powell, FanSided.com MLB director

24. Detroit Tigers

• Last week's ranking: 22

The Tigers did the thing, trading away ace and two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the same time, Scott Harris made sure to set up the team for 2027 and beyond. Meanwhile, Detroit remains in the AL Wild Card chase, just a few games back and with plenty of talent still on the roster. I wouldn’t count them out just yet.

–MP

23. Baltimore Orioles

• Last week's ranking: 16

Selling was always the right path for Baltimore at the deadline, and in Mike Elias' defense, he did well in the return for star catcher Adley Rutschman. He did less well with Taylor Ward, however, and there's still the difficult task of trying to sort of what of this homegrown core is worth preserving moving forward. Another lost season will prompt some very difficult questions this winter.

–CL

22. Toronto Blue Jays

• Last week's ranking: 24

The Jays were sellers, yes, but they sold with a purpose, acquiring two pitchers in Jose Soriano and Spencer Arrighetti who could slot right into their rotation next season and help the team get back to contention. There's the makings of a very fun starting five here with Soriano, Arrighetti, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce. Now, if Ross Atkins can just fix the offense this winter.

–CL

21. St. Louis Cardinals

• Last week's ranking: 14

The Cardinals' post-All-Star break slide unfortunately cemented their status as trade deadline sellers. St. Louis was one of the best stories in all of baseball until they weren’t; it turns out this team was just as good as Chaim Bloom thought they were. Bloom dealt Dusty May and JoJo Romero to the Brewers in the biggest move of the day for the Cards, acquiring a prospect package headlined by 18-year-old Alexander Frias. Bloom is in this for the long game, and the arrow remains pointing up.

–MP

20. Washington Nationals

• Last week's ranking: 18

If the Nationals could field an even remotely competent bullpen, this is probably the second-best team in the NL East. Instead, Washington wound up selling, with Luis García Jr. and Foster Griffin following Curtis Mead out the door. Washington has a ton of pop in its lineup. The rotation is stronger after the Connelly Early trade, but he’s still stuck on the IL. Washington wisely decided to get out of the way rather than try to buy aggressively, but while Paul Toboni is taking the long view, he didn't blow this up entirely.

–CK

19. Cincinnati Reds

• Last week's ranking: 23

The Reds shopped everyone from Brady Singer to Elly De La Cruz. Hunter Greene was even a popular trade target. But as tough of a year as Cincy has had in a crowded NL Central, the front office still seems to believe in this core. It’s why they’d rather hang onto Singer, who is set to enter free agency at the end of the season, and extend him a qualifying offer. I may not be sold on this version of the Reds, but I’m also not Nick Krall.

–MP

18. Texas Rangers

• Last week's ranking: 11

Few teams had a more confusing deadline than Texas, which were reportedly buying and selling at various points and yet wound up doing exactly neither. A deal for Jacob deGrom was reportedly in the works until he declined to waive his no-trade clause, and in general this feels like a team biding its time before blowing things up and starting over.

–CL

17. Miami Marlins

• Last week's ranking: 20

The trade deadline loomed as a major inflection point for Miami, but while Liam Hicks and some relievers went out the door, Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards did not. Miami largely held the line, keeping an eye on the future without going full-on fire sale by moving guys like Sandy Alcantara, and they could compete sooner rather than later because of it.

–CK

16. Minnesota Twins

• Last week's ranking: 21

The Twins are committed to making the postseason this year, and thus didn’t trade the likes of Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton. The additions of Dean Kremer and AJ Minter should go a long way in Minnesota’s playoff chase.

–MP

15. Seattle Mariners

• Last week's ranking: 19

Seattle solved a major problem by adding outfielder Taylor Ward. The problem is that was just about the only move Jerry DiPoto made, relying on a team that's underachieved all year to finally find itself down the stretch. That's not a bad bet, but it was still disappointing to see the Mariners fail to do more to upgrade either their offense or their bullpen.

14. Cleveland Guardians

• Last week's ranking: 15

The Guardians remain in the AL Wild Card chase , and unlike the Rangers, Mariners and Twins, they were never really considered threats to sell at the MLB trade deadline. That should be all Cleveland baseball fans need to know about the public perception of their team. The additions of Jo Adell and Nathanie Lowe should help the lineup at least.

–MP

13. Chicago White Sox

• Last week's ranking: 10

Remember when we thought the White Sox would stand pat rather than trading prospect capital to win now? That was a cute narrative. Sure, Chicago is set up to win beyond the 2026 season, but they’re in first place right now. Luis Castillo and Huascar Brazoban stand out the most as deadline additions for a contender that desperately needed pitching help heading into August. Now, they have just that.

–MP

12. Arizona Diamondbacks

• Last week's ranking: 9

The Diamondbacks surged into the deadline with a real chance to cement their claim on an NL Wild Card spot. Arizona has serious offensive firepower, with hope that Ketel Marte can locate a higher gear for the stretch run and Lars Nootbaar now in the outfield. But while the D-backs can hit their way through any matchup, the rotation is a major soft spot and the bullpen hasn’t done enough to ease the insecurity around Arizona’s pitching. Their quiet deadline did little to address either.

–CK

11. Pittsburgh Pirates

• Last week's ranking: 12

The Pirates made one of the savvier trade deadline moves in recent memory, adding elite relief pitcher Luke Weaver in a trade with the New York Mets. This is the deal Pirates fans have been begging Ben Cherington to make for weeks. Weaver should slide right in as either the immediate closer or setup man, though he has little experience with the former, and he was far from the only bullpen addition Pittsburgh secured.

–MP

10. Houston Astros

• Last week's ranking: 13

Houston has put itself in prime position to reclaim the AL West thanks to a red-hot stretch to close the month of July. They desperately needed pitching reinforcements at the deadline, though, and instead all they got was Daulton Varsho — a useful player at a position of need, but hardly a real needle-mover. As such, it's hard to take the Astros that seriously, but this offense is capable of carrying a team on its back.

–CL

9. San Diego Padres

• Last week's ranking: 17

San Diego was dead in the water a couple weeks ago, but a recent surge has reignited their postseason aspirations — and pushed AJ Preller into buy mode. The Padres’ bullpen is a silver bullet and the lineup has started to come alive, particularly when it comes to Fernando Tatis Jr., who has seven homers and an .847 OPS since the calendar flipped to June. The Padres are still operating at a firepower deficit when compared to other National League heavyweights, but their short-term outlook has shifted dramatically with Casey Mize and Robbie Ray here to fortify the rotation.

–CK

8. Philadelphia Phillies

• Last week's ranking: 7

The Phillies are in a tough spot. This is an older, expensive ballclub with clear intentions to compete for a World Series, but the roster really isn’t good enough. This team is hard to beat when Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez or Jesús Luzardo take the mound, but the back of Philly’s rotation is a meatball factory. The lineup is extremely top-heavy; Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are the only matchup-proof boppers, and Harper hasn’t really hit lefties well of late. Dave Dombrowski tried to get aggressive at the deadline, but all he did was add Luis Arraez — who, while an offensive upgrade, raises as many questions as he answers.

–CK

7. New York Yankees

• Last week's ranking: 6

Arguably no team had a more disappointing deadline than the Yankees, which added a pair of defensively limited platoon bats in Luis Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos but failed to address glaring needs at catcher and in the bullpen. It feels like Brian Cashman just didn't really believe in this team enough to push his chips in, and while that's understandable enough given their injury issues, how much more time do Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and the gang have left?

–CL

6. Boston Red Sox

• Last week's ranking: 8

Say this for Boston: They sure went for it, with Craig Breslow giving up his two best pitching prospects as part of a hefty package to land Adley Rutschman. This is still something of a wonky lineup, and both of the team's biggest deadline adds are currently on the IL. But they're the hottest team in baseball right now, and with the way they're pitching, they can beat anybody in the AL.

–CL

5. Tampa Bay Rays

• Last week's ranking: 4

Tampa Bay attacked its two biggest needs, adding Freddy Peralta to the rotation and Liam Hicks at catcher. Do either of those players make enough of a difference to raise this team's ceiling, though? They're as good a bet as anyone to emerge from the wide-open AL, but it's hard to see them going toe-to-toe with the giants in the opposite league.

–CL

4. Atlanta Braves

• Last week's ranking: 3

The Braves have reversed course after the All-Star break, surging while their division rivals falter. This once again feels like Atlanta’s division to lose, with an explosive lineup and a solid rotation that will only get stronger at the deadline. And yet, the Braves declined to take a big swing at the trade deadline, getting a useful outfield bat in Lane Thomas but not much else. Drake Baldwin, Michael Harris and the next generation of Braves stars have arrived in full, with Ronald Acuña picking up the pace post-injury, but it's hard to put this team on the same plane as the Dodgers right now.

–CK

3. Chicago Cubs

• Last week's ranking: 5

Cubs fans thought they had acquired Reid Detmers from the Los Angeles Angels to pair with deadline addition Kevin Gausman. Instead, Chicago traded for Marlins pitcher Braxton Garrett and Mets righty Clay Holmes. Not sure how we got those confused, baseball media. Nonetheless, Chicago had a fine deadline, adding to their rotation and bullpen by way of Ryan Zeferjahn. Don’t sleep on this group if their pitching can get it together. 

–MP

2. Milwaukee Brewers

• Last week's ranking: 2

For those expecting the Brewers to rival the Dodgers and trade for Tarik Skubal, I have bad news for you: Milwaukee opted out of the Skubal sweepstakes, instead taking chances on smaller additions and trusting their pitcher development program. This could come back to haunt the Brewers, which were swept out of the postseason by L.A. just a year ago. For now, they remain prohibitive NL Central favorites, for whatever that’s worth. 

–MP

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

• Last week's ranking: 1

The Dodgers added Tarik Skubal before the deadline and will barely feel it, as their farm system remains better-stocked than any team in MLB. There is not a more loaded team in the Majors. A three-peat is the expected outcome. That’s not to say the Dodgers are unbeatable; their core continues to age, with Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and others on the downswing. But L.A. keeps plugging every hole with the best possible solution. Good luck to everyone else.

–CK

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