My 2017 MLB Power Rankings Trade Deadline Edition

Welcome to this week’s MLB Power Rankings with a special trade deadline flavor. That’s right. By the time you read this, the MLB trade deadline will have come and gone. Is your team a buyer? A seller? Maybe they are just standing pat. Regardless, it’s an exciting time for baseball as teams with World Series dreams gear up for the push to the playoffs.

*Note ~ All stats and records are through Sunday’s games.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (74-31) ~ The best team in baseball will have to operate without the best pitcher in baseball for a while. Clayton Kershaw will miss about a month’s worth of action while recovering from yet another back injury. Backs are fickle and one has to wonder if this will become a recurring theme for the ace of baseball. (Last Ranking 2)

2. Houston Astros (68-36) ~ Dallas Keuchel is back, but is it for real this time? Carlos Correa won’t be back for a while. The Astros have the luxury of a massive 16-game lead in the AL West, but will they be ready when October baseball rolls around? That will be the true test. (LR 1)

3. Washington Nationals (62-41) ~ The Nats have a 13-game lead in the National League East and a playoff run is all but a certainty at this point. That said, even the good teams can use a little help. In comes Howie Kendrick, a veteran who can play on the infield and in the outfield which helps give Washington a depth boost all around. (LR 3)

4. New York Yankees (56-47) ~ All fingers point towards the Yankees acquiring a starting pitcher. The most rumored name is Sonny Gray of Oakland. Maybe it will get done. Maybe it won’t. Brian Cashman will do something today though. Won’t he? (LR 7)

5. Colorado Rockies (60-46) ~ Former All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy will now call Coors Field home. The backstop was traded at the deadline for the second year in a row. While he isn’t having the kind of production we’ve come to expect (.242/.297/.338 with four homers) he will be an upgrade at the catcher position for Colorado. Tony Wolters was getting many of the starts behind the dish, but those will now belong to Lucroy. (LR 6)

6. Arizona Diamondbacks (60-45) ~ The Snakes made a small move today by picking up Adam Rosales from Oakland. Most likely to provide some depth after Chris Owings’ injury. They already picked up a big bat when they traded for J.D. Martinez. The NL West is crowded at the top. Another move may need to happen to help propel Arizona into October baseball. (LR 5)

7. Boston Red Sox (57-49) ~ Starter David Price is back on the disabled list with a bum elbow. This is the same injury which caused him to start the season on the DL. Have no fear, however. Addison Reed is here! Well, maybe he won’t make the rotation any better, but Reed has been lights out in the ‘pen this year. Pairing him with Craig Kimbrel makes Boston’s bullpen that much scarier at the end of a game. (LR 4)

8. Cleveland Indians (57-46) ~ A first place team that has yet to make a move as the deadline nears? The Indians would fit that bill. Rumor has it they are looking to add to their pitching corps whether that be a starter, a reliever or maybe even both. Could Yu Darvish be headed to the Tribe? Stranger things have happened. ***UPDATE Darvish was traded to the Dodgers***(LR 10)

9. Chicago Cubs (56-48) ~ Everyone knows the Cubs finally won it all last year. Everyone knows that the players received their rings this year. What everyone should also know, is that Steve Bartman also received a ring. Bartman, who was made infamous back in 2003 for his role in a foul ball play, was given an official ring by the Cubs. Here’s hoping that the Bartman chapter of the Cubs history is finally closed. This time, on a very, very high note. (LR 11)

10. Kansas City Royals (55-48) ~ The good news is that Kansas City has won nine of their last 10 games and made a few additions to the ballcub with Melky Cabrera, Trevor Cahill and Brandon Maurer coming over to the club. The bad news is that Cleveland has also won nine of their last 10 which still leaves K.C. two games back in the AL Central. General Manager Dayton Moore has made it clear, however, that they are going for it one more time with this crew before a few core players hit free agency at the end of the season. (LR 12)

11. Tampa Bay Rays (54-52) ~ They sit just 3 ½ games out of first place in the American League East and have decided to go for it. They acquired Lucas Duda from the Mets to help bolster the lineup. They also picked up Dan Jennings from the White Sox and Steve Cishek from Seattle to help out in the bullpen. Can the small budget Rays overtake the Red Sox and Yankees? (LR 9)

12. Milwaukee Brewers (55-52) ~ Michael Blazek had an unforgettable outing the last time he took the mound for Milwaukee. He gave up five home runs in the same inning becoming the first pitcher to allow such a thing to happen. Sometimes, the problem with doing something unforgettable, is that you’d do anything to forget it. (LR 8)

13. Seattle Mariners (53-53) ~ James Paxton had himself one hell of a July. The M’s defacto ace (sorry King Felix) went 6-0 in July with a 1.37 ERA. He currently leads the team in wins (11), ERA (2.68) and strikeouts (125). (LR 13)

14. Texas Rangers (50-54) ~ A big name player did leave Texas, but I already talked about Lucroy. This space is for Adrian Beltre who became the 31^st member of the 3,000 hit club on Sunday with a double. Beltre has been alarmingly underrated throughout much of his career, but should be a lock for the Hall of Fame when the time comes. Beltre has 454 career home runs along with the 3,000 hits and looks like he still has a good two or three years left. Hats off to ya Beltre. (LR 14)

15. Baltimore Orioles (50-54) ~ The O’s are in a position where I’m not sure if they should be buyers or sellers. They are looking up at three teams in the AL East. Their pitching has been abysmal and perhaps that’s why they went out and acquired Jeremy Hellickson from Philadelphia. He hasn’t been anything special this season with a 4.75 ERA, but that is actually an improvement in Baltimore’s shoddy rotation. (LR 22)

16. Minnesota Twins (50-53) ~ First, they were buyers, when they traded for Jaime Garcia. Then, they were sellers, when they traded away Jaime Garcia to the Yankees. Garcia made one start in a Twins uniform allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings while striking out seven and picking up the win. Easy come, easy go I guess. (LR 15)

17. St. Louis Cardinals (52-53) ~ The Cardinals season has been frustrating in many ways and some thought they would be sellers at the deadline. Then they had a 5-2 week against playoff hopefuls Arizona and Colorado. That brought them back to within a game of the .500 mark. A series against Milwaukee begins tonight and they could conceivably be back in second place before you know it. The playoffs might be a stretch at this point, but there might not be a reason to hit the dismantle button just yet in St. Louis. (LR 19)

18. Pittsburgh Pirates (51-54) ~ The Pirates are a lot like the Cardinals. They’ve had a disappointing season. They’ve heard trade rumors about some of their best players being on the block. They aren’t really realistically in the playoff hunt, but they aren’t a bad team. Just like the Cards, I don’t think much will happen with Pittsburgh today. (LR 18)

19. Los Angeles Angels (51-55) ~ The Angels should be sellers. The problem is, what do they have to sell? Mike Trout obviously isn’t going anywhere. Albert Pujols has too large a contract for any team to consider trading for the former MVP. Their rotation and bullpen are a mess. Frankly, I’m amazed they are hovering around .500. I just feel like this team should be a lot worse than they are. (LR 16)

20. Toronto Blue Jays (49-56) ~ Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Troy Tulowitzki has been placed on the disabled list. Rob Refsnyder, recently acquired from the Yankees, seems likely to earn playing time while Tulo is out with a sprained ankle. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the last-place Jays trade away a player or two today. ***UPDATE – they just traded Fransisco Liriano to Houston*** (LR 21)

21. New York Mets (48-55) ~ When the Mets acquired AJ Ramos I have to admit I was confused. They aren’t contenders this year. They have a good closer. Why would they go out and acquire another one? Well, they picked up Ramos so they could deal their in-house closer Reed to Boston. Reed is a free agent after the season and Ramos is under contract through 2019. This is a move for the future. (LR 20)

22. Miami Marlins (49-54) ~ Giancarlo Stanton is tied for the Major League lead with 33 home runs. The club record for homers in a season is 42 set by Gary Sheffield back in 1996. That means, with just 10 more long balls, Stanton can set a new club record. Barring something unforeseen, I have to believe that will happen. (LR 24)

23. Atlanta Braves (48-55) ~ Yesterday I was able to make it out to see the Braves for the first time this year. Got to see R.A. Dickey toss a gem. Got to see nearly zero offense from my boys in blue. Another loss to the woeful Phils. Maybe next year they’ll be better. Maybe next year there will be excitement for the Braves and their fans at the trade deadline. (LR 17)

24. Detroit Tigers (47-56) ~ The fire sale continued over the weekend when reliever Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila were traded away to the defending champion Cubs. J.D. Martinez left the building a while back. While it makes sense to try and move more veterans like Ian Kinsler or Justin Verlander, methinks they will both still be Tigers when the day is done. (LR 23)

25. Oakland A’s (46-59) ~ The news just broke. Sonny Gray has been traded to the Yankees. The A’s got themselves a nice package of prospects, but two of them are coming off of serious injuries. Could the other options have been that bad? (LR 25)

26. San Diego Padres (47-58) ~ There’s not much news coming out of San Diego about the ballclub. They’re not a good team. They don’t have many big names to trade. The one name that keeps floating around is Brad Hand who recently slotted into the closer’s role. Oh well. Two more months of baseball in San Diego before the season ends without much ado about anything once again. (LR 28)

27. Cincinnati Reds (42-63) ~ Like the Padres, there’s not much news coming out of Cincy about the ballclub. Did I just offend any Reds fans by starting this off with “Like the Padres”? Do any Reds fans read this? (LR 27)

28. Chicago White Sox (40-62) ~ The rebuild is on in Chicago. The White Sox have traded away nearly all of their veteran players. The roster looks almost nothing like it did at the start of the season. It’s time for the kids to play. Things can only get better from here for the ChiSox. (LR 26)

29. San Francisco Giants (40-66) ~ Pablo Sandoval is back by the Bay. Kung-Fu Panda latched on with his former club after he was released by the Red Sox. Maybe those memberberries will help Giants’ fans forget about this dreadful 2017 season. (LR 29)

30. Philadelphia Phillies (38-64) ~ The Phillies are the worst team in baseball. Yesterday I saw the beat my Braves. That marked the eighth time in 10 games that the Phillies have beaten the Braves this year. Good grief. (LR 30)

Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave feedback. Good or bad. I can take it. I will try and respond as quickly as possible. I can also be found on Twitter. Handle is in my profile. Jose Bautista follows me. Maybe more MLB players will. I can only hope.