I’ll tell you how fast and furious the trade deadline was. I Googled the question, “How many players were traded at the deadline?” The answer was dozens and dozens. The movement was so frenetic that AI couldn’t even help me precisely find a number.
Aside from the Tarik Skubal trade, the hometown Orioles made the biggest splash of the day in moving Adley Rutschman, who had a season and two months of team control for a bevy of prospects.
Several teams helped themselves, but a couple teams were surprisingly a bit slow on the draw — the Yankees, Brewers, Phillies and Astros didn’t seem like they were trying. A couple teams right there for wild-card spots — the Rangers and the D-Backs — barely lifted a finger.
This is the deadline the way baseball wants it, with 20-plus teams in it until late in the season.
Several teams like the Orioles hedged their bets and seemed to sell more than buy because they faced the reality that they have played nearly 115 games and they haven’t been able to nudge across the .500 threshold.
Then there were teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Padres, White Sox and Rays that really went after it.
Here are my latest MLB power rankings, reflective of the deadline deals:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-44, No. 1 last week): The Tarik Skubal deal should trump whatever anyone else has done to make a run at the World Series flag in 2026.
2. Milwaukee Brewers (69-43, No. 2): The difference between Milwaukee and Los Angeles is a little more than 2,000 miles — and the ability to re-sign Skubal after the season. The Brewers had a chance to contend for the flag had they acquired Skubal, but they would have watched him walk after the season. The pivot to Dustin May was disappointing, but they did add two good bullpen arms in JoJo Romero (from St. Louis) and Antonio Senzatela (Colorado).
3. Tampa Bay Rays (66-46, No. 3): Pitching coach Kyle Snyder and the Rays’ analytics folks know a thing or two about fixing pitchers. If they figure out how to remake their Humpty Dumpty (Freddy Peralta), this team of overachievers can make a deep run. Liam Hicks will catch and hit a lot. Tyler Wells is a solid pickup to help get to closer Bryan Baker, another former Oriole.
4. Atlanta Braves (67-45, No. 4): Underwhelming deadline by president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos in adding only Tyler Mahle. However, the oft-injured right-hander showed what he could do as recently as last season, when he made 16 starts with Texas and posted a 2.18 ERA in 86.2 innings with a 1.13 WHIP. If healthy, he could be a perfect fit.
5. Boston Red Sox (60-51, No. 7): Maybe Adley Rutschman will fit right in and be a big part of continuing a magical run that has excited owner John Henry, but the Red Sox gave up a ton of talent for a player with an inflated sense of his real worth. If the Sox sign him to an extension of longer than three years and an option, they will hate the way it ends.
6. Chicago Cubs (64-49, No. 8): Give GM Jed Hoyer and his team credit, they went after it. The Cubs added three starters to an injury-ravaged rotation, bringing in Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes and Braxton Garrett. They also added power arm Ryan Zeferjahn, who strikes out 13.1 batters per nine, for the bullpen. Angels pitching coach Mike Maddux may have fixed Zeferjahn for Cubs manager Craig Counsell.
7. New York Yankees (63-50, No. 6): I liked the pickup of Luis García Jr. from the Nationals, but not adding a couple relief arms and a catcher who can hit a bit seems foolish. Maybe they know that Aaron Judge is doubtful to return and don’t want to waste those top-tier prospect bullets. Weak deadline.
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (60-53, No. 10): I respect the D-Backs’ fighting spirit, but where was GM Mike Hazen snoozing during the deadline? All they did was add Lars Nootbaar to their outfield.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (60-53, No. 5): I love the pickups of Luis Arráez and Brooks Raley, but in order to accommodate Arraez’ stated demand of continuing to play second base, the Phillies are moving Bryce Harper to right field, where he has not played since 2022. Alec Bohm moves from third to first and Bryson Stott from second to third. All of that sounds good, except I could see Harper having issues in right field. Why didn’t president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acquire a starting pitcher? Must have been Andrew Painter’s solid six-inning start in Baltimore on Friday.
10. Houston Astros (58-56, No. 19): The Astros have vaulted into my top 10 for the first time this season by winning 11 of 12. Once as low as No. 29, they have bounced back with a 39-26 record after starting the season with a 21-30 mark. They made one significant deadline move in acquiring Daulton Varsho from Toronto to man left field. I’ll give them an “A” for that deal, but that was all they did. That leaves them with a rotation down the stretch of Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert and three starters returning from lengthy injured list stints. Ronel Blanco, Cristian Javier and Hayden Wesneski hardly inspire great confidence. They needed someone like Kevin Gausman or Trevor Rogers. Awful deadline.
11. Chicago White Sox (59-52, No. 9)
12. Texas Rangers (55-58, No. 11)
13. San Diego Padres (58-55, No. 16)
14. Cleveland Guardians (57-56, No. 12)
15. Miami Marlins (58-55, No. 18)
16. Minnesota Twins (56-57, No. 15)
17. Baltimore Orioles (54-58, No. 21)
18. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-57, No. 14)
19. Seattle Mariners (55-58, No. 20)
20. St. Louis Cardinals (56-57, No. 13)
21. Washington Nationals (55-59, No. 17)
22. Detroit Tigers (54-58, No. 21)
23. Toronto Blue Jays (53-60, No. 24)
24. Cincinnati Reds (53-58, No. 23)
25. San Francisco Giants (48-65, No. 25)
26. Colorado Rockies (45-68, No. 27)
27. New York Mets (47-66, No. 29)
28. Kansas City Royals (46-67, No. 26)
29. Athletics (45-67, No. 28)
30. Los Angeles Angels (43-69, No. 30)