MLB Power Rankings: Phillies free fall, Yankees claw back; key acquisitions for each team

MLB Power Rankings: Phillies free fall, Yankees claw back; key acquisitions for each team

MLB Power Rankings: Phillies free fall, Yankees claw back; key acquisitions for each team

  • Post category:Sports

By Grant Brisbee, Andy McCullough and Stephen J. Nesbitt

Every week,​ we​ ask a selected group of our baseball​ writers​ — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.

If you had trouble following the blizzard of transactions at the trade deadline last week, you were not alone. Baseball people everywhere tried retraining their brains to remember Trevor Richards is a Twin, Hunter Harvey a Royal, Dylan Carlson a Ray and Jesse Winker a Met.

A lot changed last week. With this week’s Power Rankings, we’re highlighting a key addition for each team. For some teams, that’s a player who could win them a pennant later this year. For others, it’s a prospect who could have an impact one day down the road.

Record: 67-46
Last Power Ranking: 5

Key acquisition: IF/OF Jazz Chisholm Jr.

The Yankees gambled that Chisholm would provide a spark for a lineup that had become too reliant on Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. The team also bet that Chisholm, a 26-year-old who had spent his big-league career mostly at second base and center field, could handle regular duty at third base. So far, so good. Chisholm hit four home runs in his first seven games as a Yankee. He appeared energized by his departure from the Marlins. And he has yet to make an error in his six games at third base, a position that appears to belong to him now. — Andy McCullough

Record: 67-46
Last Power Ranking: 2

Key acquisition: LHP Trevor Rogers

The Orioles know what they are getting in Zach Eflin. He profiles as a No. 3 or 4 starter, a reliable pitcher who throws strikes, manages games well and provides stability. To some evaluators, Baltimore gave up more prospect value in acquiring Rogers from Miami. The lefty is still 26. He looked like a budding ace in 2021 before arm injuries sideswiped him. He posted a 3.48 ERA in his final 10 starts as a Marlin, which encouraged the Orioles to pick him up. He is under team control through 2026. If Baltimore can fix him up, Rogers could headline a rotation with Grayson Rodriguez for a couple years. The early returns, though, were not encouraging: Rogers gave up five runs and did not finish the fifth inning in his Orioles debut. — McCullough

Record: 67-45
Last Power Ranking: 4

Key acquisition: OF Lane Thomas

The Guardians paid a hefty price for two seasons with Thomas, sending prospects Alex Clemmey, Rafael Ramirez Jr. and José Tena to the Nationals. Had the trade happened last year, when Thomas was cruising to a 28-homer, 20-steal season in Washington, the cost would have been even higher. Thomas still has speed, with 28 steals this season, but he’s hit only eight homers. The outfielder is elite against left-handed pitching (.906 OPS), a trait the Guardians needed in their lineup. While Thomas could eventually fall into a platoon against righties (.651 OPS), for now, he’s a regular in right field who can occasionally scoot over to center. — Stephen J. Nesbitt

Record: 66-46
Last Power Ranking: 1

Key acquisition: RHP Carlos Estévez

Dave Dombrowski remodeled his bullpen at the deadline. He sent out Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto while bringing in Estévez and White Sox lefty Tanner Banks. Estévez provides manager Rob Thomson with another late-game option, part of a game-finishing quintet that includes Jeff Hoffman, José Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering. Dombrowski paid a serious price for Estévez, dealing away a pair of pitching prospects who made significant leaps in 2024. If the Phillies return to the World Series in October, few in the Delaware Valley will mind the cost. — McCullough

Record: 66-47
Last Power Ranking: 3

Key acquisition: RHP Jack Flaherty

Flaherty threw six shutout innings in his first start with the Dodgers, with seven strikeouts. However, he did it against the Oakland Athletics. That means that if you adjust for the team he faced and do other sabermetric tweaks, he allowed four runs in five innings. Wow. Are the Dodgers having buyer’s remorse???

(For that joke to work, you shouldn’t know which AL team scored the most runs in July. Don’t click on this link.)

Flaherty is throwing as well as he ever has, and now he’s on a team that whispers the secrets of pitching into the ears of every pitcher with an open mind. Seems like a good fit, especially for a trade deadline where teams were giving up prospects for Jeff Suppan. Not the modern-day equivalent. Literally Jeff Suppan. Look it up.

(The Dodgers did well with this trade.) — Grant Brisbee

Record: 63-48
Last Power Ranking: 7

Key acquisition: RHP Trevor Richards

Well, it was him or writing “Getting guys back from the injured list.” Listen, Richards has had a fine career as a middle reliever and occasional opener. His best pitch is his changeup, and he carves up lefties with it. But landing Richards didn’t save the Twins from scorn, as it was clear their primary intent at the trade deadline was to keep payroll in check. The Twins are counting on the team they started with this spring to propel them to the postseason. They’re right on track to do that. They just need to get guys back from the injured list. — Nesbitt

Record: 62-49
Last Power Ranking: 6

Key acquisition(s): RHPs Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas

It’s hard to decide which addition will be more likely to pay off for Milwaukee this season, but one must if the Brewers are to maintain their momentum. GM Matt Arnold approached the trade deadline woefully short on rotation depth. He addressed that need with two veteran starters who have each been good in the past but have 5 ERAs this year. Civale is under club control for next season, while Montas has a $20 million mutual option with a $2 million buyout. So, Civale is more likely to be key in 2025. But who would get a big start this postseason? That’ll be sorted out in the next eight weeks. — Nesbitt

Record: 63-51
Last Power Ranking: 11

Key acquisition: RHP Lucas Erceg

Even after adding Nationals set-up man Hunter Harvey, the Royals strengthened their bullpen by trading for Athletics reliever Erceg. The righty is a late bloomer, a former third-base prospect who converted to pitcher in 2021 and debuted at age 28 in 2023. Erceg started his Royals career with three consecutive holds. Seven up, seven down.

Erceg averages 98.5 mph on his fastball, with two other offerings — slider and sinker — that rate as plus pitches. He’s under club control through 2029, so the Royals can pencil him in as a leverage reliever for a long, long time. — Nesbitt

Record: 61-52
Last Power Ranking: 10

Key acquisition: LHP Martín Pérez

The Padres had an unsurprisingly surprising deadline, bolstering their bullpen at great expense. But they went to the dollar store for the starter they desperately needed, getting Pérez from a Pirates team they’re directly competing with.

Pérez threw six strong innings in his Padres debut, which reinforces the idea that he’s their most important acquisition at the deadline. The bullpen arms are swell and all, but the Padres needed a starter more than anything else. What if Pérez is reliable again? — Brisbee

Record: 60-51
Last Power Ranking: 8

Key acquisition: OF Jorge Soler

One of the more surprising moves at the deadline occurred when Alex Anthopoulos brought back Soler, a midseason acquisition in the charmed season of 2021, to aid his flagging offense. Soler had not played the field in 2024 and was owed $26 million through 2026. That did not stop Atlanta. Soler has become the primary right fielder for the Braves, whose performance has perked up a bit after a rocky July. The outfielder has not yet done much in his return to Atlanta. In October, though, his power could make a difference — if the Braves make the postseason, which looks more doubtful than it did earlier in the year. — McCullough

Record: 61-52
Last Power Ranking: 14

Key acquisition: LHP A.J. Puk

Puk has, no hyperbole, one of the best left-handed arsenals in baseball history … when he’s healthy and right and locating where he wants to. Which is to say, almost never.

Still, here’s a unicorn of a southpaw reliever, of whom you can dream about “one weird trick” turning him into a secret weapon for the postseason and beyond. The Diamondbacks gave up Deyvison De Los Santos, who was voted “Most Likely to Turn into a Right-Handed Yordan Alvarez” in a poll I invented for this article, but that shouldn’t take away from how good Puk is when he’s right. The only question has to do with how often he’s right.

Hardly ever. But a team can dream and feel good for doing so. — Brisbee

Record: 60-51
Last Power Ranking: 12

Key acquisition: RHP Quinn Priester

Craig Breslow spent some time at the deadline shopping in the reliever aisle, picking up Luis García and Lucas Sims. He added a backup catcher in Danny Jansen. His most intriguing move involved a swap of former first-round picks. Breslow dealt Nick Yorke, one of Boston’s better prospects, to Pittsburgh for Priester, the No. 18 pick in the 2019 draft. The Red Sox sent Priester to Triple-A Worcester and tasked him with improving his fastball velocity while increasing the usage of his changeup. If the Red Sox developmental staff can sharpen Priester’s arsenal, he could be a force on the big-league roster for years to come. — McCullough

Record: 57-55
Last Power Ranking: 9

Key acquisition: LHP Yusei Kikuchi

The Astros traded for Gerrit Cole after a season in which he was 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA. He had a 5.50 ERA in his final six starts with the Pirates and was trending downward. Then the Astros got their hands on him and turned him into a $324 million man. “Here, throw this where we tell you to throw it. It’ll probably work out.”

This is another way to say that the Astros might have had an idea of how to weaponize Kikuchi from the start. They needed a starter in the worst way, so if they can back their way into a Game 2 starter from here, they’ll be thrilled. Kikuchi offers a high floor and higher ceiling than most pitchers available at the deadline, so you can see why a team like the Astros would be excited. — Brisbee

Record: 59-54
Last Power Ranking: 13

Key acquisition: OF Randy Arozarena

Need an injection of power and vibes? Call 1-800-ARO-ZAR. Then, when you get to the prompts, you have to hit another E-N-A, which is annoying.

However! That doesn’t take away from the injection of power and vibes that Arozarena has given the Mariners. As of this writing, they’re still in first place, and they’ve done it with Arozarena’s help — nine hits, three doubles and a particularly well-timed homer in 37 plate appearances.

Is he the best player in baseball? No. Not even close. Is he the best possible player for the moribund Mariners to acquire at the deadline? Possibly.— Brisbee

Record: 59-53
Last Power Ranking: 15

Key acquisition: OF Jesse Winker

The Mets did a lot without doing a lot at the deadline. David Stearns brought in No. 5 starter Paul Blackburn, a bunch of relievers and Winker. All of these trades represented upgrades. None moved the needle. At least Winker improves the offense, which is the strength of the club. The Mets employ a bunch of fellows who can sock the baseball over the fence. Winker gets on base often, especially against right-handed pitchers. His patience and peskiness make their lineup that much more difficult to navigate. — McCullough

Record: 57-56
Last Power Ranking: 16

Key acquisition: OF Tommy Pham

Six years and seven teams later, Pham returned to his original franchise in a three-team trade that also netted the Cardinals starter Erick Fedde. Pham spent his first week back with the Cardinals slashing .381/.409/.714.

The reunion may be brief, as Pham will be a free agent this fall, but his impact should be significant in the St. Louis outfield. Pham puts together professional at-bats. He takes walks, limits strikeouts and mashes lefties. If the Cardinals are to chase down a playoff spot, Pham will have played a big part. — Nesbitt

Record: 57-54
Last Power Ranking: 20

Key acquisition: RHP Dylan Lesko

Tampa Bay brought in a bushel of new faces at the deadline. The team earned plaudits for recognizing the dearth of sellers and pouncing. The sell-off netted intriguing players like outfielder Aidan Smith, pitcher Jackson Baumeister and new big-league third baseman Christopher Morel. Part of their strategy involved not relying on any one player for this deadline to be considered a success. Which allowed them to take risks on a player like Lesko. A first-round pick in 2022, Lesko might have the highest upside of the entire crew. He has had a wretched professional career, but Tampa Bay officials still believe in his talent. If he can approach the potential he demonstrated as an amateur, the Rays will be thrilled. — McCullough

Record: 56-55
Last Power Ranking: 17

Key acquisition: UTIL Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Kiner-Falefa may not maintain his current pace at the plate, with a .762 OPS that’s 62 points better than his previous career high, but he’ll play an important role for the Pirates this season and next. He’ll bounce around the diamond playing plus defense wherever he’s needed — second base currently, with Nick Gonzales injured — consistently put the ball in play, and swipe a few bags. Kiner-Falefa, who returned from the injured list this weekend, may eventually get some run in center field, as the Pirates search for a solution there. Think mid-2010s Josh Harrison. Those guys are almost always worth acquiring. — Nesbitt

Record: 57-57
Last Power Ranking: 18

Key acquisition: OF Jerar Encarnación

Why would the Giants trade Jorge Soler just as he was starting to heat up? Maybe because it allowed them to promote Encarnación, who had goofy, goofy numbers in the Mexican League (.366/.439/.989, with 19 homers in 107 PA) and then kept it going in Sacramento (.352/.438/.616). If the Giants can get anything from Encarnación that approximates what Soler was supposed to do, he’ll be the equivalent of a prospect traded for Soler at the deadline. Just in a very abstract way.

Mark Canha also merits mention, but he isn’t likely to be an on-field contributor as much as he’s supposed to be a designated clubhouse support veteran. He could definitely help the Giants’ postseason efforts with his bat, but Encarnación is currently the team’s greatest hope for found dingers. — Brisbee

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Brisbee: The unlikeliness and timing of Blake Snell’s no-hitter, and the fun of it

Record: 54-59
Last Power Ranking: 19

Key acquisition: LHP Walter Pennington

Michael Lorenzen was perfectly fine in his Royals debut. He allowed just one run in 5 2/3 innings, which means it was his best start in a month. The Rangers might miss him over the next two months, but they didn’t have a lot of need for him with Tyler Mahle coming back and Max Scherzer not not back. (He’s back from the 60-day IL, but is on the 15-day IL with shoulder fatigue.)

So they traded one of the few cromulent starters available for Pennington, a lefty reliever. Pennington’s name makes him seem like a railroad baron from 1867, but he’s actually just a dude from the Colorado School of Mines, which isn’t exactly a baseball hotbed. He has a fantastic slider, and the Rangers should make use of him right away. If the ALCS comes down to someone other than Pennington facing Yordan Alvarez, don’t say I didn’t warn you. — Brisbee

Record: 55-60
Last Power Ranking: 22

Key acquisition: 3B Isaac Paredes

You try trading with the Rays and not feeling sick to your stomach afterward.

Taking the longer view, though, the Cubs seemed to fare fine in trading Morel and pitchers Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson for the AL All-Star third baseman Paredes. Paredes is an upgrade defensively over Morel, and he’s a better pure hitter despite having less raw power. Paredes has hit .180 since May 22, but the Cubs are focused on the future, so Paredes’ contract (under club control through 2027) will matter more than a summer slump. — Nesbitt

Record: 54-58
Last Power Ranking: 23

Key acquisition: CF Joey Wiemer

Many around the industry expressed surprise that two months of Frankie Montas was worth a useful pitcher (Jakob Junis) and a former top-100 prospect (Wiemer). Wiemer is already 25, and his hit tool was a real concern as he rose in the minors, but his combination of raw power, speed and elite defense is typically hard to acquire. In 410 plate appearances for the Brewers last year, Wiemer had 13 homers and 11 steals, with plus-8 Outs Above Average in the outfield. The issue? He struck out 28 percent of the time and hit .175 against righties. There’s still a lot of upside to the player, and odds are the Reds will find a way to use him. It seems Wiemer should, at the very least, be a capable fourth outfielder who platoons against lefties, pinch runs and enters as a defensive replacement. — Nesbitt

Record: 53-60
Last Power Ranking: 21

Key acquisition: C Thayron Liranzo

The headliner in a much-criticized return for Jack Flaherty, Liranzo could prove to be an important piece of the next Tigers core. Before the season, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Liranzo, 21, as the No. 99 prospect in baseball, and No. 5 in the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers system. A 6-foot-3 switch-hitting catcher, Liranzo has 30-homer power and a selective approach at the plate. There are questions about the hit tool and how he’ll fare against pitchers in the upper levels of the minors, but assuming Liranzo sticks as at least an average defensive catcher he’ll be forgiven for some swing-and-miss — the Tigers have gotten a lot of that from their catchers over the past decade. To have a long-term catcher with plus power from both sides of the plate would do wonders for the club’s future. — Nesbitt

Record: 51-61
Last Power Ranking: 24

Key acquisition: RHP Jake Bloss

Toronto scored three legitimate prospects from Houston in exchange for Yusei Kikuchi. (Kikuchi, of course, struck out 11 in his Astros debut; if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your trade grade.) Bloss was one of the trio. Houston picked him out of Georgetown in the third round of last year’s draft. He zoomed through their minor-league system. He made only 19 appearances in the minors before getting called up to the big-league roster this summer. Bloss profiles as a back-end starter with a chance to become a No. 3. The Blue Jays have stashed him in Triple A. He is the organization’s best pitching prospect now that Ricky Tiedemann has had Tommy John surgery. — McCullough

Record: 51-62
Last Power Ranking: 25

Key acquisition: C Caleb Lomavita

The Nationals made this deal well ahead of the deadline, trading reliever Hunter Harvey to Kansas City for the 39th pick in the upcoming draft. Washington used that pick on Lomavita, an aggressive-swinging catcher who put up big slugging numbers at the University of California-Berkeley. Mike Rizzo picked up a few intriguing prospects at this deadline, including a good package in exchange for outfielder Lane Thomas. To get a pick that high in the draft for a reliever could be a coup. — McCullough

Record: 49-63
Last Power Ranking: 26

Key acquisition: LHP Samuel Aldegheri

Aldegheri isn’t just a name that prompts 🤌🤌🤌 emojis from the chronically online. Dude was born in Verona, Italy, which means he’s half of a Shakespeare play. He’s also an advanced prospect who has been striking out the world since he turned pro.

If there’s a concern, it’s with the walk rate. Here’s what MLB.com had to say about it:

Aldegheri’s walk rate hasn’t been great, but he’s shown more feel for the zone than the numbers might indicate, and there was belief in the Phillies organization that he’ll be a solid strike-thrower as he gets more time on the mound. Now it will be the Angels who can try to help him put the finishing touches in his development as he logs more innings at the upper levels

Ah, so if the Angels can develop this pitcher, he might be something special. Again, we’re talking about the Angels. Specifically, how they develop pitchers.

Best of luck, Samuel. Maybe the rest of the world was wrong and the Angels will be proven right. — Brisbee

Record: 47-67
Last Power Ranking: 27

Key acquisition: RHP Kade Morris

Morris is a 22-year-old right-hander who the A’s got from the Mets for Paul Blackburn. He was a third-rounder out of the University of Nevada, Reno, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Las Vegas by the end of the year. Do you see the geographical opportunities here?

Morris throws more strikes than the next guy, more balls than you’d want, and has a Turlocker’s appreciation for how dirty this whole A’s nonsense is. My most earnest and heartfelt hope is that he has a Hall of Fame career in Oakland, playing in a stadium at Howard Terminal, while John Fisher is broke and trying to win his fortune back, one quarter-slot at a time.

Go for the ones with a really big progressive jackpot, John. It has to work if you play long enough. — Brisbee

Record: 42-71
Last Power Ranking: 28

Key acquisition: C Agustin Ramirez

President of baseball operations Peter Bendix bought in bulk last week. He dealt away seemingly every Marlin with any marginal trade value. Time will tell on the returns. But if you squint, you can see the future of the franchise: Adam Mazur and Robby Snelling in the rotation, Connor Norby in the center of the infield, Deyvision De Los Santos slugging homers. And behind the plate, in this fantasy, is Ramirez, the biggest name coming back to Miami in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade. He might not stick as a catcher. But Ramirez might hit enough that it might not matter. He could become the club’s regular first baseman, too. — McCullough

Record: 41-72
Last Power Ranking: 29

Key acquisition: LHP Luis Peralta

Peralta is an undersized lefty with a big strikeout rate and a concerning tendency to walk batters left and right. The potential is there, though, and the Rockies got him by trading Jalen Beeks, who had a whopping strikeout rate with the Rays, but a middling one with the Rockies. They got the updated version in Peralta, and you should probably expect him in Coors Field by the end of the season.

That’s it. That’s the Rockies blurb. Goodness, you couldn’t possibly ask me to think about them more than this. — Brisbee

Record: 27-88
Last Power Ranking: 30

Key acquisition: IF/OF Miguel Vargas

You may have heard that the White Sox are, uh, struggling lately, but have you heard that Vargas was a top-30 prospect just one year ago? How about that!

Vargas, 24, was a .201 hitter across 129 games with the Dodgers, never managing to replicate his terrific minor league numbers — like the .290/.440/.566 slash line he had at Triple-A Oklahoma City before the three-team trade that sent him to Chicago. The Dodgers didn’t have time to let Vargas keep trying to figure things out in the majors. The White Sox have nothing but time. Maybe, as a regular, he’ll come closer to matching his former prospect profile as a guy who would get on base all the time, rope doubles and run into some homers. — Nesbitt

(Top photo of Brandon Marsh: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)



by NYTimes

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