2015 MLB Power Rankings: Blue Jays headline busy trade week
Jul 29, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki(2) hits a double against Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
If the Toronto Blue Jays weren’t a serious playoff contender in your eyes a week ago, that thought process surely has to have changed now after the moves they made right before this year’s trade deadline.
Troy Tulowitzki, LaTroy Hawkins, David Price, Ben Revere and Mark Lowe were each acquired in four separate deals to make the league’s best offense even more dangerous and give the pitching staff some much needed support.
Despite being two games out of an American League Wild Card spot, the Blue Jays now look like not only the favorite, but also may now be a threat to the Yankees in the AL East.
Two more teams who aimed to turn themselves into powerhouses in the AL are the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros.
The Royals added an ace in Johnny Cueto to a starting staff that has battled injuries and inconsistency all season. They also acquired Ben Zobrist to fill in for Alex Gordon in left field and take over for Omar Infante at second base when Gordon returns.
The Astros traded for Scott Kazmir and Carlos Gomez. Kazmir, a free agent next season, may have been the best bargin on the market. Gomez is a streaky hitter that when hot, is one of the best all-around players in the game.
Other teams that made moves to aid themselves for a playoff push include the Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
With all these transactions last week, let’s see how affected this week’s power rankings.
Next: Astros back on top in the AL West
Aug 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Yankees first baseman
Mark Teixeira(25) celebrates after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
team. 33. After once again losing <strong><a href=. 67-38. Previous: 1st. St. Louis Cardinals. 1
7. Cueto and Zobrist make the Royals even more dangerous then they already are but should there still be concerns with the starting pitching?. 62-42. Previous: 2nd. Kansas City Royals. 2. team
71. As the Dodgers go on down the stretch, it will be interesting to see how big of a role <strong><a href=. 60-45. Previous: 3rd. Los Angeles Dodgers. 3. team
Pittsburgh Pirates. 4. team. 4. The Pirates are still have the National League’s second best record but that could be tough to maintain if <strong><a href=. 61=43. Previous: 4th
5. team. 43. The New York Yankees scored 12 runs or more in three of their four wins last week.. 59-45. Previous: 7th. New York Yankees
The Astros appear to have taken back control of the AL West after a sweep of the Angels over the weekend.. 60-46. Previous: 6th. Houston Astros. 6. team. 135
team. 40. After a strong debut for the <strong><a href=. 57-47. Previous: 11th. San Francisco Giants. 7
Chicago Cubs. 8. team. 9. Six straight wins for the Chicago Cubs has them tied with the Giants for the NL’s second Wild Card. To help keep pace, they added <strong><a href=. 57-47. Previous: 10th
Los Angeles Angles. 9. team. 102. The Angels are coming off of a rough week losing six straight and potentially having to go without <strong><a href=. 55-49. Previous: 5th
Previous: 8th. Washington Nationals. 10. team. 90. The Washington Nationals have the worst batting average in all of baseball after the All-Star break and as a result have once again let the Mets back into the NL East race.. 54-49
Next: Mets impressive at the trade deadline.
Aug 2, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets first baseman
Lucas Duda(21) celebrates scoring with center fielder
Yoenis Cespedes(52) during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
3. The Mets are in a first place tie with the Nationals thanks to a hot hitting Lucas Duda, the additions of <strong><a href=. 55-50. Previous: 12th. New York Mets. 11. team
54-52. Previous: 15th. Toronto Blue Jays. 12. team. 39. After all the moves the Blue Jays made, they welcomed the Royals to Toronto and made a statement taking three of four from the AL’s best team.
The Baltimore Orioles quietly added a nice piece in <strong><a href=. 53-51. Previous: 13th. Baltimore Orioles. 13. team. 11
14. team. 2. The Minnesota Twins are falling and falling fast.. 54-50. . Minnesota Twins
Tampa Bay Rays. 15. team. 21. Despite a deficit of just three games for the AL second Wild Card, the Tampa Bay Rays decided against being aggressive at the deadline, trading off both <strong><a href=. 52-54.
127. The San Diego Padres inactivity at the deadline was puzzling. I guess general manager A.J. Preller really believes his team is still in the playoff hunt.. 51-54. Previous: 20th. San Diego Padres. 16. team
team. 126. The Texas Rangers acquiring <strong><a href=. 51-53. Previous: 21st. Texas Rangers. 17
Chicago White Sox. 18. team. 128. Seven straight wins before the deadline stopped the Chicago White Sox from buying or selling. Was it the right move?. 50-53. Previous: 19th
Arizona Diamondbacks. 19. team. 8. The Arizona Diamondbacks were connected to arms like Hamels and <strong><a href=. 50-53. Previous: 18th
Detroit Tigers fans have every right to be angry with their team selling at this year’s trade deadline. But they could have a potential front line rotation piece in <strong><a href=. 51-54. . Detroit Tigers. 20. team. 63
Next: Mariners missed sales opportunities.
Aug 2, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher
Hisashi Iwakuma(18) pitches to the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Cincinnati Reds. 21. team. 61. The Cincinnati Reds scored three pitching prospects in the deal for Cueto with <strong><a href=. 47-56. Previous: 27th
Atlanta Braves. 23. team. 17. It surprising to see the Atlanta Braves give up on <strong><a href=. 47-58.
The Seattle Mariners are another team that needed to sell hard at the deadline and failed to do so. <strong><a href=. 48-58. . Seattle Mariners. 24. team. 62
In typical <strong><a href=. 47-59. . Oakland Athletics. 25. team. 96
Previous: 22nd. Boston Red Sox. 26. team. 14. The Boston Red Sox deserve some credit for shipping off <strong><a href=. 47-59
team. 108. It’s hard to envision the Colorado Rockies without their star shortstop but that will be the case from now on. I can also see them placing <strong><a href=. 44-59. Previous: 28th. Colorado Rockies. 27
team. 76. The Milwaukee Brewers did well by flipping <strong><a href=. 44-62. Previous: 26th. Milwaukee Brewers. 28
6. The Phillies still have the worst record in baseball but are 12-3 since the All-Star break, which is the best in baseball.. 41-65. Previous: 30th. Philadelphia Phillies. 29. team
Miami Marlins. 30. team. 82. <a href=. 43-62. Previous: 29th
Next: Why not the Chicago White Sox?