Ranking the top 10 starting rotations after the MLB trade deadline

Now that the MLB trade deadline has come and gone, multiple teams made additions to their starting rotations, while others didn't need to address their rotation at all. Still, with starting pitching being so crucial in today's game, it's imperative to identify the teams with the strongest rotations in baseball and what it means for their potential playoff chances.

(For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.)

10. Boston Red Sox

Boston already had a top 10 rotation in MLB, but after adding veteran southpaw James Paxton, their pitching staff only got marginally better. Paxton already got struck in his first outing with Boston, allowing six runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk over 4.1 frames.

Paxton’s 4.97 FIP suggests he hasn’t been the victim of much bad luck. He’s in the 69th percentile regarding run value on breaking balls, but all other metrics suggest Paxton has been well below average this season.

Regardless, Boston didn’t pick up Paxton to be their ace. The team still has Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, who spearhead the top of the team's rotation. With a collective 3.85 ERA among starting pitching, Boston had built momentum up to the trade deadline but leveled off in July with a record of 12-11.

Their starting rotation cannot afford to take a step backward to reach the playoffs. According to Tankathon, the Red Sox have the 10th-most arduous remaining schedule the rest of the way and are currently 2.0 games out of the third Wild Card spot in the American League.

9. New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are another team that didn’t need to add a starting pitcher at the deadline due to the depth they already have. Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman both have well above-average marks, while Nestor Cortes (4.13 ERA) has not been as affected as the team hoped he would but does sport a slightly lower FIP (4.00), suggesting bad luck has at least played a part.

Given that his xERA sits at just 3.65, according to Baseball Savant, there’s reason to believe that Cortes should improve as time goes on.

This year, the X-factor for the Yankees will be if Gerrit Cole can truly get back to form. He owns a 5.40 ERA but had recorded back-to-back quality starts before getting shelled by the Mets in his most recent outing. After spending most of the season on the IL, Cole will have the luxury of really finding his groove, unfatigued, when it matters most.

Of course, he will have to perform, but given who he is, he can fully lead his team down the stretch. A healthy and dominant Cole with an MVP-caliber Aaron Judge can easily see the Yankees make a deep postseason run if their rotation stays healthy.

8. Baltimore Orioles

Whether you consider it an overpay or not, the Baltimore Orioles made quite the splash at the trade deadline. They landed two starting pitchers, Trevor Rogers and Zach Eflin, who will join Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, and Dean Kremer.

Eflin's xERA sits in the 70th percentile with a mark of 3.47 (actual ERA 4.11) and a FIP of just 3.63. He also sits in the 99th percentile of BB% and should be a great addition to the team's staff down the stretch. Rogers does not have similar peripherals, but he has turned a corner lately, recording a 3.38 ERA in his last nine starts before being traded to Baltimore.

The Orioles had dealt with a massive blow when they lost Kyle Bradish, but reinforcements are on the way for the team that boasts the American League's second-best offense. They have a solid chance to make a serious postseason run, but like with all teams, their rotation must stay healthy to make it happen.

7. Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves did not add to the starting rotation at the trade deadline, but they didn’t need to. They also boast an elite group of hurlers that has helped mitigate offensive production due to injury. Reynaldo Lopez is amid a career year, and Chris Sale is back to top-tier form this season. Elsewhere, Max Fried gives the team’s starting rotation a three-headed monster that has helped propel the team into the Wild Card race, where they have sat most of the season.

Currently, eight games above .500, the team's offense sits at 19th in Runs Per Game, so it made sense that the Braves front office opted not to spend valuable prospect currency on overpriced starting pitching this year. Fried is on the 15-day-IL but isn’t expected to be out long. Lopez’s early exit this past Sunday is concerning, even though his MRI showed no structural damage on his forearm.

The team will likely have him take it easy from here on out, given the workload he has taken on this season. Still, this Braves rotation has been a strength all year, and when fully healthy again, it will help the team lock up a playoff spot.

6. Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are nowhere near a playoff spot after a disappointing 2024 campaign to this point in the season. That said, their starting rotation has been top-5 in the National League all year. Backed by team ace Justin Steele, along with the emergence of an incredible rookie campaign thus far from Shota Imanaga, the team has also had key contributions from Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad. These four pitchers have excelled in every way, and if it wasn’t for them, the Cubs were likely looking at being full-blown sellers at the deadline.

• Shota Imanaga - 2.95 ERA
• Javier Assad - 3.23 ERA
• Jameson Taillon - 3.35 ERA
• Justin Steele - 3.38 ERA

You do not often see a starting rotation with four players who could all double as another team’s No. 2 pitcher. Still, a lack of bullpen acquisitions this past winter led the team to blow a third-worst 20 saves on the season to this point.

With a current record of 51-58, simple math tells you that if half of those saves were converted, the Cubs would easily be a playoff team this year, and a massive chunk of that is due to their starting pitching. It will be interesting to see if they add further to the rotation this winter or if they spend the money becoming available on pending free agents for relief help. Moving Jameson Taillon would have been a mistake, considering the team still wishes to compete next season.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are hunting for the Wild Card, and a considerable part is due to their starting pitching this season. Offensively, Pittsburgh sits in 21st in MLB in terms of runs per game, but the addition of Paul Skenes to an already solid group of pitchers has more than made up for it.

Skenes himself is already becoming one of the best pitchers in the league, and following him are Mitch Keller and Bailey Falter. Jared Jones is currently on the 15-day IL but most recently threw a 38-pitch bullpen session, so optimism is there that he will be back soon.

Going back to Tankathon, Pittsburgh does have one of the harder remaining schedules this season, but they also have one of the better rotations in baseball. They did pick up Bryan De La Cruz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to help bolster the offense, so it will be interesting to see if they can hold their own and make it back to the postseason.

They currently have a record of 55-53 and sit 2.5 games out of the last Wild Card. It will likely take better offense than anything else to get them over the hump, but the rotation certainly has the pieces for a strong push.

4. Seattle Mariners

If the team can improve its offensive production now, the rotation will be intact, giving them the best chance to make the playoffs. It will be a steep climb with multiple teams eyeing the same playoff spot, but they have the 19th-easiest remaining strength of schedule to Seattle's benefit.

Seattle fans will brace for a postseason push in what is shaping to be one of the best AL Wild Card races we've witnessed.

Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Luis Castillo are the three-headed monster with the Seattle Mariners in the thick of a playoff hunt. They are 3.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot; it hasn't been from a lack of starting pitching. Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller are also having tremendous seasons, which gives Seattle a rotation of five pitchers that are all fantastic.

The team is on the outside looking in because of their abysmal 3.92 runs per game, which is the third-worst mark in MLB, which they are looking to change with the additions of Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner at the trade deadline.

3. Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are another team in the thick of the playoff race, currently sitting in the third wild-card spot with a record of 60-49. The team boasts four starting pitchers with above-average marks, and a borderline MVP-caliber season from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has Kansas City swiftly approaching postseason status.

• Seth Lugo - 2.66 ERA
• Brady Singer - 2.88 ERA
• Cole Ragans - 3.37 ERA
• Michael Wacha - 3.57 ERA

You don't have to overthink this one; this group of pitchers has been solid all season. You don't need massively high K/9s or other statistics to prove that this team has been highly efficient on the mound. All four of these pitchers deserve high praise for helping to catapult Kansas City to a playoff-caliber ballclub, and the rotation only got stronger recently with the addition of Michael Lorenzen (3.81 ERA) at the trade deadline.

The best news for KC is that this rotation will remain intact for multiple years should Michael Wacha opt into his player option next season. Everybody else has multiple years via arbitration or pre-arb, except for Lugo, who has next season and a player option for 2026.

2. Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia has boasted one of the very best rotations in baseball. It wouldn't be fair to give them high marks and not list them near the top. Fresh off his second All-Star appearance, Zach Wheeler leads the way with a 2.94 ERA and Ranger Suarez's 2.87 ERA for the first-place Phillies.

Aaron Nola isn't far behind with a 3.43 mark, along with Cristopher Sanchez (3.36). Tyler Phillips owns a 1.80 ERA after being slid into the rotation, where he has made three starts thus far, including one shutout.

Given that the Phillies are sitting at 65-43 and 6.5 games up in the NL East, the team's addition of Carlos Estevez at the deadline will only help them keep their foot on the gas. Philadelphia is a strong contender, and although their offense speaks for itself as well, it's safe to say they would not be enjoying their success if it weren't for the starting rotation, who have combined for 41 wins this year. Their top three are already all over 10 wins individually, and rotations like this have you not surprised when a team wins it all at the end of the year.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

It's scary to think how good this Los Angeles Dodgers rotation will be once they get everyone back healthy. With the addition of Jack Flaherty at the deadline, L.A. bolstered their high-powered offense (second in the NL at the time of writing) with an arm that currently enjoying a career season.

It was announced that the Yankees backed out of a potential deal for Flaherty, thus paving the way for the Dodgers to swoop in and grab him. He currently sports a 2.95 ERA, along with 133 Ks over 106.2 IP. His pitching Run-Value of 11 is in the top 12 percent of the league, and he was certainly the biggest trade at the deadline.

The Dodgers' rotation currently consists of Tyler Glasnow, Flaherty, Clayton Kershaw, and Gavin Stone. However, they also have Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to throw a bullpen session, as well as Walker Buehler on the IL on pace for a rehab start. This is a pure example of a team that is ready to win it all this season.

They've missed out on multiple chances to hoist a World Series trophy recently, except for 2020 in the shortened COVID season. Even though Shohei Ohtani will rejoin the rotation next season, the team will lose Flaherty to free agency, but the depth is so deep here that they have no reason to even consider extending him right now.