MLB Power Rankings: Where each team stands after trade deadline

Welcome to the ninth edition of theScore's MLB Power Rankings for the 2022 season. We look at where each team stands coming out of the trade deadline.

1. New York Yankees

The Yankees have authored an incredible season thus far and fortified their already strong roster with some deft moves. With the injury to Luis Severino, adding a high-impact starter like Frankie Montas was a must. However, there's some concern with his shoulder and struggles away from the friendly confines of the Coliseum. The injury to Michael King made bullpen reinforcements important and adding Scott Effross and Lou Trivino should help fill the gap. New York shocked many when they flipped Jordan Montgomery for Harrison Bader right before the deadline. The speedy outfielder should be a perfect fit for the postseason with his ability on the bases and defensively. And don't forget about replacing Joey Gallo with Andrew Benintendi.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

An uncharacteristically quiet deadline for the Dodgers, but that's the benefit of adding Freddie Freeman before the season even starts to your superteam. They should have added to their rotation after multiple injuries, but it's not like they got worse, either. Chris Martin coming in to stabilize the bullpen is positive and Joey Gallo is a savvy buy-low move. Shipping Mitch White - who has been an important depth piece for the pitching staff - to the Blue Jays is somewhat puzzling. But, really, that's a very minor quibble for a team cruising toward its ninth division title in 10 years.

3. Houston Astros

Houston certainly had a busy deadline, adding complementary pieces to a roster that was already arguably the best in the league. While the names aren't as flashy as the ones acquired by their biggest AL competitor (and they certainly could've used another starter, the Astros addressed their most dire need behind the dish while making their lineup deeper. Christian Vazquez joins them while ranking as the sixth-best catcher in the majors by wRC+ with at least 300 plate appearances. The addition of Trey Mancini helps take some at-bats away from 38-year-old Yuli Gurriel, who is struggling. Flipping Jake Odorizzi - who offered depth to a relatively top-heavy rotation - for Will Smith is a head-scratcher. But the Astros are certainly in a better position now than they were before the deadline.

4. New York Mets

The most glaring need was at catcher and the Mets failed to add an impact player behind the plate. Getting Jacob deGrom back is huge and the additions of Tyler Naquin, Dan Vogelbach, and Darin Ruf will boost the team’s overall offensive depth. Adding Mychal Givens to the bullpen will help, but there's an argument to be made that New York should have looked to acquire at least one additional reliever to load up for the postseason.

5. San Diego Padres

Unequivocally the winners of the deadline, the Padres landed arguably the best player ever traded in Juan Soto for a package of ultimately superfluous and expendable prospects. That's not to say they gave up nothing; the losses of MacKenzie Gore, C.J. Abrams, and Robert Hassell would hurt any team's farm system. But, in the end, are the Padres trying to have the best farm system or are they trying to finally win their first World Series in franchise history? Not only did they make the single biggest deal of the deadline, they made arguably the two biggest acquisitions, also landing left-handed closer Josh Hader. In any other NL division - and with a healthy Fernando Tatis Jr., who should return shortly - they would be the runaway favorites to win.

6. Atlanta Braves

The defending champions swooped in to grab a proven closer in Raisel Iglesias. The Braves used a lockdown bullpen to propel them in October last year and are looking to replicate that model again. With the inconsistencies of some of their starting pitchers, adding Jake Odorizzi to provide more depth was a smart move by GM Alex Anthopoulos. It remains to be seen who will be the pearl-wearing hero this postseason.

7. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays needed to find a way to add more swing and miss to their bullpen. While the additions of Anthony Bass and Zach Pop are decent, Toronto still feels thin on the type of power arms you need in the bullpen to have success in the postseason. The acquisition of Mitch White from the Dodgers was interesting, as the right-hander has some upside and comes with years of club control. Whit Merrfield’s vaccination status made Toronto seem like a long shot, but evidently the Blue Jays feel confident he will be on the field down the stretch.

8. Philadelphia Phillies

The eventual return of reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper could serve as a type of huge deadline acquisition. The Phillies are always looking for bullpen reinforcements and capitalizing on the late-career renaissance of David Robertson seems like a good bet. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have carried Philadelphia’s rotation all year but adding a veteran presence like Noah Syndergaard to provide some depth should help down the stretch. After 47 underwhelming MLB games, former No. 1 pick Mickey Moniak will get a fresh start elsewhere.

9. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers opted to ship away four-time All-Star closer Hader despite sitting atop the NL Central. Milwaukee has always been a cost-conscious contender so the thought of trading an $11-million reliever - the club's second-highest-paid player - for a package of cheaper players is justified even if the timing is odd. The hope is that relievers Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet, and Matt Bush can help cover those innings.

10. Seattle Mariners

Seattle's blockbuster move came days before the deadline, addressing their biggest need by landing Luis Castillo. Some pundits thought they were jumping the market somewhat, but the return the Athletics got for Montas was relatively similar. The Mariners are starved to end their two-decade-long postseason drought, and they seemed poised to do that even without the addition of Castillo. However, the starter gives stability to a shaky rotation and is under team control through 2023, meaning he'll keep them in the playoff hunt for at least another year. Jerry Dipoto, typically a trigger-happy executive, should get plenty of kudos this deadline for his patience. He landed an ace to help struggling Robbie Ray and Marco Gonzales while making a handful of smaller moves - adding backup catcher Curt Casali, reliever Matt Boyd, and platoon bat Jake Lamb - without losing anything of note.

11. St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis couldn't match the package San Diego sent out for Juan Soto. Instead of adding a different piece to the offense, the Cardinals went the other way by trading away Harrison Bader to the Yankees for Jordan Montgomery. The left-hander should benefit from moving out of the AL East and comes with an additional season of control. Jose Quintana provides another solid veteran arm at the back end of the rotation.

12. Minnesota Twins

The Twins were aggressive while the rest of the teams in the division stayed idle or sold off. The additions of Jorge Lopez, Tyler Mahle, and Michael Fulmer will fly under the radar but could pay off large down the stretch. Minnesota adding an established closer at the back end in Lopez helps take pressure off the rest of the group, while Mahle helps give the team a solid mid-rotation starter. The right-hander owns a 2.83 ERA over his last nine starts.

13. Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays were fairly quiet at the deadline. The addition of David Peralta was a heady one as the veteran should deliver quality at-bats for a club that has struggled to find much offensive consistency. Rays fans will likely lament the loss of the popular Brett Phillips. Jose Siri has tons of speed and a great glove but doesn’t offer much value at the plate.

14. Boston Red Sox

No team had a weirder deadline than the Red Sox, but that isn't to say it was bad. Sitting just three games back of a playoff spot, holding on to J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Nathan Eovaldi, and others on expiring deals isn't necessarily an awful thing - especially with the qualifying offer still in play and so many key contributors on the verge of coming off the IL. Trading Christian Vazquez is a loss behind the plate, but he wasn't getting qualified this winter, and the team was able to sell high for two intriguing prospects. Adding Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham for essentially nothing were no-brainers.

15. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox's disappointing deadline was about as disappointing as the team's season so far. Rick Hahn did nothing besides flip Reese McGuire for reliever Jake Diekman, who's 12 K/9 this season is overshadowed by his 7 BB/9. Chicago has one of the easiest schedules in the majors over the next two months, so the club should be in the fight for a playoff spot, but this is a team that was supposed to be competing for World Series titles at this point.

16. Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland opted to do nothing despite entering the day just one game back of the Twins for the lead in the AL Central. It's a bit of a shocker for a team with plenty of needs and a solid farm system. The Guardians only have three players with double-digit home runs and Franmil Reyes, arguably the team's biggest power threat, was just optioned to the minors.

17. Baltimore Orioles

The O’s unexpected success didn’t cause them to deviate from their plan as they dealt All-Star closer Jorge Lopez and Trey Mancini. The club appears to be closer to contention than many expected and could be a dark horse to watch in free agency this offseason as they look to close the gap on the top clubs in the division.

18. San Francisco Giants

It's a disappointing deadline for the Giants, who straddled the line between buyer and seller and came out the other side looking somewhat directionless. They're essentially the same team in spirit, losing Darin Ruf, Curt Casali, and Matt Boyd (who never even threw a pitch for them) while adding underappreciated righty slugger J.D. Davis. But this is a big market club that should've either been after the hot names on the market - even as a dark horse contender for Juan Soto after losing out on Bryce Harper in free agency years ago - or as a club willing to sell off rental players like Carlos Rodon or Joc Pederson. Instead, San Francisco will play out the final two months as the clear mid-tier team of the division.

19. Miami Marlins

The Marlins turned a couple of relievers into a former first-round pick from the Blue Jays. Jordan Groshans has seen his stock drop due to a lack of power but is still a good athlete and could develop into a quality option at either third base or shortstop in the future. There was tremendous interest in controllable starting pitcher Pablo Lopez but that seems like a deal more likely to be completed in the offseason.

20. Texas Rangers

Idling in the midst of a disappointing season after investing heavily this past winter makes sense. It's hard to sell to the fans that you're building a winner while trading away impact players. However, rental options like Martin Perez or Kole Calhoun almost certainly should've been dealt away. Perez - posting an incredibly impressive 2.52 ERA over 20 starts - might've brought back important pieces to help build a contender around Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, and dealing away a pitcher on an expiring deal in a losing season isn't a difficult thing to sell. That being said, the Rangers do have a positive run differential and are conceivably within striking distance of that final AL wild-card spot, currently eight games back. There's a chance a hot streak gets them back into the conversation and having some hope is never a bad thing.

21. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks had a pretty puzzling deadline. They got rid of outfielder David Peralta and right-hander Luke Weaver but retained left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply, who was widely seen as their most fungible trade piece along with Mark Melancon and Ian Kennedy. Peralta and Weaver were never going to bring back an impressive package of prospects, but the return was still pretty underwhelming. This is still, ultimately, a bottom-tier club in a difficult division. And continuing to keep Ketel Marte on a team-friendly deal that would seemingly be worth a lot on the trade market is definitely odd for an otherwise rudderless club. There's always next deadline.

22. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels used their better judgement and held on to Shohei Ohtani, but things are going to get real interesting this winter when the two-way superstar enters his final year under contract. Instead, Los Angeles traded away a number of other impact players with controllable years left in Brandon Marsh and Raisel Iglesias. Los Angeles was able to convert the expiring deal of Noah Syndergaard into former No. 1 overall pick Mickey Moniak, who has underachieved early in his career in Philly.

23. Colorado Rockies

For some reason, the highest priority for the destitute Rockies this deadline was ... giving 37-year-old closer Daniel Bard a two-year extension. And that's it. That's all they did. Alex Colome is on an expiring deal and he will undoubtedly leave Colorado this winter without any compensation. The same goes for Jose Iglesias, who is a perennial trade chip for teams looking for a defensive upgrade at shortstop. Those guys will instead hang around and help the Rockies accomplish ... whatever it is the Rockies hope to accomplish.

24. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs stunned everyone by not trading impending free agent Willson Contreras or Ian Happ despite the pair being two of the most desirable pieces available. Instead, Chicago moved relievers David Robertson, Mychal Givens, Scott Effross, and Chris Martin. It's tough to get a gauge with this front office under Jed Hoyer. The team made a number of head-scratching moves during the offseason, and those puzzling decisions continued on Tuesday.

25. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers traded a couple of rentals but surprised many by holding onto controllable relievers Joe Jimenez and Gregory Soto. It’s been a lost season in the Motor City and there wasn’t a whole lot GM Al Avila could do at the deadline to significantly alter Detroit’s fortunes. The team needs to find some help from within and get some of their young arms healthy and on a mound again. Thankfully they opted to hold on to Tarik Skubal.

26. Cincinnati Reds

The mass exodus out of Cincinnati continued as Tyler Mahle, Brandon Drury, Tommy Pham, Luis Castillo, and Tyler Naquin are all playing elsewhere. The Reds have just one postseason appearance in the last nine years, and despite being lauded for the solid haul of prospects over the last week, there's going to be a lot more losing in the team's future with a lot of the biggest trade chips now being shipped away.

27. Oakland Athletics

The last key piece has been shipped out of Oakland. Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and now Montas have all been traded over the last four months as the Athletics bottom out. The team has just $1 million in guaranteed money on the books next season and that comes from Stephen Piscotty's eventual buyout. It's sad to see what's become of a once proud franchise.

28. Kansas City Royals

Whit Merrifield was linked to trade rumors for so long it feels like the Royals missed their chance to maximize the return on a two-time All-Star. Merrifield’s struggles in 2022 likely played a role in depressing his market. Turning Andrew Benintendi's expiring deal into three prospects is a decent bit of business by Dayton Moore. Bringing in a talented arm like Luke Weaver is a worthwhile gamble for the Royals to make in hopes he can find some of his past form.

29. Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh converting Dan Vogelbach and Jose Quintana into future pieces is a win for the front office and exactly what a rebuilding club should be doing. The fan base also has to be excited that David Bednar and Bryan Reynolds remained with the organization. After watching so many other star players exit, you need some pieces to build around.

30. Washington Nationals

What else can you say? Trading a generational talent like Soto at the age of 23 is a titanic failure on every level. for an organization that's already lost Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and Max Scherzer in recent years. The prospect return for Soto was impressive, but it’s going to be a long time before the Nationals are in World Series contention again.