There’s not much time left in the 2026 MLB season. With just a little over a month left, the margin of error is small, and in some cases, nil. So, now that a couple of weeks since the Trade Deadline have passed, here’s how the teams look in order from #30 to #1.
The Bottom
- Athletics (-2)
- Angels (+1)
- Rockies (+1)
- Giants (-1)
- Royals (+1)
- Nationals (-1)
- Mariners (-9)
- Mets (+2)
- Reds
- Pirates (+2)
The Mets jump here on account of the baseball that they’ve played over the past few weeks. Since August 4, the Mets went 10-4 and have done nothing but hit. Bo Bichette, Jared Young, and Carson Benge have all hit well over .300 over the last two weeks.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, jumps just for the simple reason that other teams have either fallen back deeper in the race or out of it altogether. Since the 4th of August, the Pirates have gone from 3.5 games to 5.5 games out of a spot. Injuries have played a role. But Paul Skenes has not been right this year, between the walks and loss of velocity.
The Mariners continued to dig themselves into a hole. Seattle is three games back of a Wild Card spot and four games back in the division.
The Middle
- Orioles (-2)
- Tigers (-2)
- Guardians (-4)
- Marlins (-1)
- Rangers (+4)
- Twins (+4)
- Blue Jays (+7)
- Diamondbacks (-3)
- Astros (-2)
- Cardinals (+9)
Thanks to inconsistencies by the Orioles, Tigers, Guardians, and Marlins, those four teams have shifted to the back end of this list.
The Blue Jays entered play on August 21 as winners of seven of their last 10, and just half a game behind for the final Wild Card spot, currently held by the Twins. This has not been a pretty year for the Blue Jays, months removed from their triumph in the ALCS and near-triumph in the World Series. Still, Toronto could make it back to the playoffs, potentially off the back of the new-look rotation.
St. Louis entered play on August 21 on a rip of their own, winners of seven of their last 10 and 2.5 games out of an NL Wild Card spot. The Cardinals played well for the better part of a month, going from 56-58 to 66-63 from August 4 through August 21. And, thanks to the likes of Alec Burleson, the offense keeps clicking.
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, must now deal with their second straight year of a mess surrounding Ketel Marte. For now, Marte is on the IL and could return after he’s eligible to return. But how will this club respond over the coming days and weeks?
The Top
- Padres (+3)
- White Sox
- Red Sox (-4)
- Yankees (+1)
- Phillies (+1)
- Cubs (+1)
- Rays (+1)
- Braves
- Dodgers (-1)
- Brewers (+1)
While it’s still tough to state that the Brewers are the favorites to win it all, Milwaukee’s pitching staff has been exceptional this season. That, coupled with an offense that’s done enough to win games this season, is why the club was the first to reach 80 wins. Now, can the Brewers score enough to outpace the competition in the postseason? We’ll see.
Last year, a Brewers team that doesn’t look that different on paper was able to beat Kyle Tucker & the Cubs. But that wasn’t the case in 2026.
Speaking of Tucker, the Dodgers need him to figure it out by October. Between August 7 and 20, Tucker slashed .136/.208/.273 over 12 games. Certainly, the early returns from both him and Edwin Diaz have not been great in 2026. And the Dodgers have the roster to win a third straight World Series title. But over the past few weeks, it hasn’t been the cleanest stretch.
The Rays have rebounded nicely over the past three weeks, highlighted by a perfect 9-0 road trip over three cities. In a wide-open American League, the Rays are the favorites for now.
As for other teams in the top-10, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been the tone-setter and then some for the Cubs. The Padres have done well to keep pace with the other teams in the Wild Card race. As for the Phillies, can any team keep Bryson Stott off base? A .436 on-base percentage over the last two weeks for Stott.
Movement from the post-Trade Deadline rankings is shown in parentheses. No parentheses indicate no movement.
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