With the MLB Trade Deadline come and gone, we take a look at where the league stands.
A flurry of moves occurred right as the 3 pm C.T. trade deadline approached Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what our MLB power rankings look like post-deadline.
30. Detroit Tigers, 32-72, last in the AL Central (ranked 30th last week)
With a 3-7 record over their last 10 games, the Tigers decided to hold on to starter Matthew Boyd. Despite the interest remaining high, teams just seemed unwilling to match the asking price of GM Al Avila. However, Detroit was able to move OF Nicholas Castellanos to the Cubs and RP Shane Greene to the Braves before the deadline.
Castellanos netted the Tigers pitchers Paul Rachan and Alex Lange, both former high draft picks for the Cubs who have high upside and aren’t far from being MLB-ready. But the Braves sent over lefty Joey Wentz and OF Travis Demeritte who has hit 20 HRs for the Braves’ Triple-A squad.
Overall, a decent haul for those two players and welcome additions to a Tigers farm system that lacks impact talent. Plus, even with the Tigers holding on Boyd at the deadline, they can still move him in the off-season when more teams will be interested and better equipped financially to negotiate a deal.
29. Baltimore Orioles, 36-71, last in the AL East (ranked 29th last week)
The Orioles have won six of their last 10 games and outside of starter Dan Straily being moved to the Phillies, didn’t make many major moves after trading Andrew Cashner to Boston. There was some talk about OF Trey Mancini, as reportedly the Astros, Rangers, and Rays all had an interest, but the 27-year-old OF will stick around in Baltimore for the moment.
The team has played well this past week, taking three of four from the Angels and splitting a series with the Padres in San Diego. They’ll face the Blue Jays and then the Yankees later this week but they’ll be without their top starter John Means, who is dealing with inflammation in his left rotator cuff and an IL stint could be in the near future. But with the trade deadline officially passed, the Orioles can focus on evaluating their current talent and working in some younger bats like 1B Ryan Mountcastle or OF Yusniel Diaz when rosters expand in September.