MLB Power Rankings: Trade Deadline Edition

It is officially MLB trade deadline day, and with that, numerous teams from around the league are making moves to either advance their roster to solidify themselves as contenders this season or to punt on this season and look at the future.

With the month of July finished, the TWSN team ranks each MLB team with August baseball now underway.

1- Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers didn’t do much this week aside from taking a series win over the Mariners. Oh, and they signed the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

2- Atlanta Braves

Atlanta, when healthy, remains a big competitor in the National League, even though they’re a step behind the Dodgers and Brewers. They’ve ripped off five straight wins, holding their opponents to 2.2 runs per game over the stretch, and their bats have been coming through. A red-hot Matt Olson and Mike Yastrzemski currently lead the charge, but the depth of their lineup goes a lot further than that. They’re definitely a team to watch potentially come out of the National League this year.

3- Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers took a trip to the West Coast last week and struggled to adjust a bit as they ended up going 3-3. Their offensive inconsistency showed up once again and will be what continues to hold them back from truly being in the contender conversation with the Dodgers.

4- Tampa Bay Rays

In what feels like a bad week of baseball with the Dodgers trading for Tarik Skubal, the Rays made their move for their rotation by acquiring Freddy Peralta. The Rays were able to claw three wins this week and ended with an even 3-3 on the week. They’ll head out west to face the Rockies and Mariners in what will be just six games for the week that’ll start their trip out to the West Coast. 

5- New York Yankees

The Yankees split their series with the White Sox and beat the Cubs 2-1 in a three-game series. So it was a 4-3 week for the Bronx Bombers as they will now shift gears to host the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves in a nice home stand after acquiring Luis Garcia Jr. from the Washington Nationals.

6- Boston Red Sox

They had the Athletics and Dodgers this week and are went 6-1 on the week. Boston may be the hottest team in the MLB and have climbed all the way to where they are now. They host the White Sox and Athletics, where the ability to have another tremendous week is right there for them. 

7- Chicago Cubs

The Cubs had a solid 4-3 week, winning three of four games against the Cardinals before dropping two of three games to the Yankees. The encouraging sign for the Cubs is that their pitching only allowed 16 runs on the week and never gave up more than three in any game. Their run prevention continues to be a strong point for the team; they just need the offense to step up.

8- Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia bounced back from a rough stretch where they only won one of their previous nine games before taking the final two in Baltimore, but it feels like they’ve been worse than that. This is still a team without a consistent fifth starter, and it’s going to tax their arms late in the season. Consecutive shutouts of the Orioles are promising, but they need more if they want to push the Braves for the NL East crown down the stretch.

9- Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona has fought their way into the second Wild Card position, meaning if the season ended today, they would be in the field and in the hunt for the World Series. A move is likely going to need to be made, though, as what they have simply isn’t enough to beat Los Angeles if we are all being real. 

10- Chicago White Sox

The White Sox had a solid week against the top two teams in the AL East. First, they split a four-game series at home against the Yankees. Then they went into Tampa and took two of three games from the Rays. The White Sox made a big move in acquiring Luis Castillo from the Mariners and hope he can help lead the Sox to their first playoff appearance since 2021.

11- San Diego Padres

Three straight wins against San Francisco to end the week was a big boost to the morale of the Padres, who seem to be locked in and ready to keep all their assets to push for a Wild Card spot that they’re now just one game back of.

12- Houston Astros

It may have taken more than half of the 2026 season, but the Houston Astros are looking like a team that can make the playoffs this year. With a perfect 6-0 week with sweeps on the road against the Los Angeles Angels and at home against the Texas Rangers, they have created some cushion for themselves at the top of the AL West. They have a home series against the Toronto Blue Jays before an off day and a road trip beginning with a weekend series against the San Diego Padres. 

13- Miami Marlins

After a monstrous 12-game losing streak nearly ruined their season, the Marlins have bounced back in a big way, winning six of their last seven with a sweep against the Phillies and taking three out of four from the Mets.

Their pitching is in top shape once more, with Sandy Alcantara shutting out their opponents twice and holding the Mets to a combined four runs in their three victories over the weekend. It's exactly the push they needed to establish themselves before the race begins after today’s trade deadline.

14- Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh went 2-5 on the week. While they remained competitive with three one-run losses, being shut out by the Diamondbacks and giving up 10 runs to the Reds on Sunday show that the Pirates are an inconsistent team.

15- Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians had another rough week, splitting their series against in-state rival Cincinnati Reds and then losing their series to the Dbacks. The Guardians now fall three games behind the White Sox in the American League Central. Guardians look to bounce back this week when they face the Mets at home before a major series in Chicago against the White Sox in what could be a difference-maker in the AL Central.

16- Minnesota Twins

The Twins had a decent week, winning the series against the Royals at home that included a Kody Clemens walk-off grand slam facing a 3-0 deficit and swinging on a 0-2 count. The Twins did fall to the Mariners, losing two of three this weekend, but the Twins were competitive in all their games despite the losses. The Twins showed grit, and that could be used as motivation for the rest of the season.

17- St. Louis Cardinals

It was a tough week for the Cardinals as they ended up going 2-5 overall, dropping three of four games to their division rival Cubs and then losing two of three games to the Blue Jays. In four of the games, their offense was nonexistent, scoring two runs or fewer four times, while their pitching surrendered 32 total runs. 

18- Seattle Mariners

After trading away Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox for reliever Seranthony Domínguez, outfielder Nolan Jones, and a catching prospect, the Mariners are looking to get better. They shed some salary and used a position of strength in order to get better in other areas of the team. Seattle was 4-3 this week, including back-to-back walkoffs, and have Monday off before continuing the homestand. They host the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays going forward, so they will be in an intriguing spot following the trade deadline. 

19- Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers may be 2.5 games back in the AL West, but that seemingly doesn’t matter for the front office, as they are reportedly prepared to be sellers before the trade deadline ends. They end the week on a five-game losing streak, which is likely a factor. Texas has some players who contenders will be interested in adding, but the team can look different relatively soon.

They begin a homestand with three games against the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles with an off day in between, so there could be some wins in the next few weeks with a lesser schedule. However, it depends on what moves the franchise makes. 

20- Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore went 3-3 on the week and need a change to get back in order and get back to the playoffs they were in for the past couple of seasons. But their week looks very easy with games against the Angels and Rangers, where if they don’t make a move, another big loss week may be in store. 

21- Cincinnati Reds 

After losing two of three games to the Guardians, the Reds rebounded to win three of four games against Pittsburgh to finish the week 4-3. Against Pittsburgh, they scored 22 runs across the four games, providing a much-needed offensive surge heading into this week.

22- Detroit Tigers

Well, it happened: the Tigers traded face-of-the-franchise star Tarik Skubal to... The Los Angeles Dodgers. This trade marks a new era in Tigers baseball, and the Tigers could be on their way to trading more pieces away before the trade deadline hits on Monday. The Tigers, though, did have a good week, winning both of their series and now find themselves just four games under 500.

Max Clark made his MLB debut this weekend for the Tigers, and he was excellent, already recording his first career home run and what will be the first of many in his career. The Tigers look to stay hot when they take on the Mariners and Giants this week. 

23- Washington Nationals

With five straight losses and trading away Luis Garcia Jr., who’s batting .283 with 23 home runs, it’s a bad week in the nation's capital. It’s odd to me how they have now dealt two of their better offensive players for a starter and two bullpen guys plus a few mediocre prospects. It feels like an underwhelming return for a team that very well could have been buying big for a playoff push with their young core.

24- Toronto Blue Jays

Fresh off of dealing Kevin Gausman to the Cubs, the Blue Jays are still struggling. They're at the bottom of their division and look like their attempt at winning back-to-back AL championships won’t happen. They went 4-2 in the week, winning both series against the Nationals and Cardinals.

Next week, they have a road trip to Houston for a three-game series followed up by a trip to Wrigley Field to face the Cubs in a makeup game. After those four games, they will head to Philadelphia to face the Phillies for a three-game series to wrap the week up. 

25- Colorado Rockies

Colorado won three straight to end the week on a high note, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re likely about to be selling to a contending team at the deadline. The biggest name to watch seems to be catcher Hunter Goodman, who is quietly second in the league in home runs and one of the overall most productive hitters in the game.

26- San Francisco Giants

The best part of the week for the Giants came on Wednesday night as they put up 16 runs, but the party was quickly spoiled when they dropped three of their next four against San Diego to help allow them to crawl back into the NL Wild Card race.

27- New York Mets

The great sell-off has begun in Queens. A.J. Minter was the first to fall, followed by the flop that was Freddy Peralta in New York. They got a solid haul of prospects in return, but it waves the white flag on what has been the biggest underperformer in baseball. Despite that, the Mets actually started the week looking like a good team.

Winners of four of their last five and with a series win over the Braves, they had a chance to look like a competent baseball team with a successful homestand. Then their offense once more disappeared, losing the final three games to Miami. An 0-12 day with runners in scoring position Sunday capped another uneventful week on the diamond.

28- Kansas City Royals

The Royals had another brutal week that was capped off by getting swept by the Rockies. The Royals will almost certainly be selling their pieces at the deadline and look to move on to the next season. The Royals take on the Twins at home before a weekend series against the Cubs. 

29- Athletics

The Athletics are prepared for some trades to shake up the roster, especially after going 1-8 in their previous nine games. The Athletics also likely lost catcher Shea Langeliers for the remainder of the season, but the pitching has been brutal after giving up 32 runs in their three-game series against the lowly Detroit Tigers. They begin a road trip after Monday’s off day as they play the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox coming up, but it will be interesting to see who is still with the team. 

30- Los Angeles Angels

The Angels had a rough week, which has been a microcosm of the season as a whole. They have talent, but not enough to continue winning games, and they will likely sell some pieces before the trade deadline concludes.

They ended the week with a shutout win, but were 1-5 on the homestand. The team is off on Monday before a road trip with the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins. It will be intriguing to see if the likes of Jose Soriano and Zack Neto are still on the team when the Angels next take the field.