MLB power rankings: Red Sox keep foot on the gas through trade deadline
· Yahoo Sports
How much higher can the Boston Red Sox fly?
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It's starting to feel like revenge season in Boston, where a club that went 10-17 with the fired Alex Cora is now a seemingly unbeatable 50-34 with interim-but-probably-permanent manager Chad Tracy.
Lost in the hubbub of Tarik Skubal's arrival in L.A. was the Red Sox schooling the Dodgers over three games, running their unstoppable streak to 23 wins in 26 games, moving within five games of first place.
They now have a virtual lock on the No. 2 wild card and also Adley Rutschman in the fold, ready to upgrade their putrid production at catcher while Cedanne Rafaela continues his MVP run. All that's left is home cooking: The Red Sox are 25-29 at Fenway Park and welcome the Central-leading White Sox and free-falling Athletics to the Fens this week.
It wouldn't be surprising if they had a winning home record by week's end.
A look at our updated rankings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
- Forget Tarik Skubal. Benny Biceps is a Dodger again. .
2. Milwaukee Brewers (-)
- The game's best farm system remains intact. But at what cost?
3. Atlanta Braves (-)
- The Eli White Era is over.
4. Tampa Bay Rays (-)
- Liam Hicks might have been the best under-the-radar deadline add.
5. New York Yankees (-)
- Camilo Doval's addition by subtraction might be Yankee fans' deadline highlight.
6. Chicago Cubs (-)
- Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Michael Conforto, Tyrone Taylor...is this Queens Midwest?
7. Boston Red Sox (+3)
- Imagine telling a Red Sox fan two years ago that Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer were gone, Roman Anthony slipping out of favor and Kristian Campbell buried in the minors.
8. Chicago White Sox (-)
- Wise to have a modest deadline.
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (-)
- Surge into No. 2 wild card spot and only add Lars Nootbaar?
10. Philadelphia Phillies (-3)
11. San Diego Padres (+5)
- Death, taxes, AJ Preller drafting a pitcher in the first round and trading him with dispatch.
12. Cleveland Guardians (+3)
- So conservative over the years that trading for Foster Griffin felt like a lightning strike.
13. Miami Marlins (+5)
- Just an absolutely skittish team the past two weeks, and deadline reflected it.
14. Houston Astros (+8)
- Overtake Rangers, find their lefty-swinging outfielder, perhaps are so back.
15. Minnesota Twins (-)
- A team we can all rally around, adding key bullpen hope even as playoff odds tenuous.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (-5)
- Slipped under .500 but still snagged best reliever on market in Luke Weaver.
17. Texas Rangers (-5)
- Should be getting healthier soon.
18. Washington Nationals (-5)
- You won't find a more poorly-timed five-game losing streak than their pre-deadline skid.
19. St. Louis Cardinals (-5)
- Lars Nootbaar gone, Alec Burleson stays.
20. Seattle Mariners (-3)
- Atypical Jerry Dipoto W not busting up the team after grim stretch dampens playoff odds
21. Baltimore Orioles (-2)
- At least the Peter Angelos era was morbidly entertaining.
22. Detroit Tigers (-1)
- What a waste.
23. Cincinnati Reds (-)
- Tyler Stephenson, still a Red. What an upset.
24. Toronto Blue Jays (-)
- A deft buy-sell gambit as Jose Soriano makes them better now and in 2027.
25. San Francisco Giants (-)
- Will fresh start for California kid Marcelo Mayer pay off?
26. New York Mets (-)
- Not even their sell-off was very interesting.
27. Kansas City Royals (-)
- Gentle applause for not throwing in towel on '27, too.
28. Athletics (-)
- Welcome to Yolo County, Seth Johnson. Otherwise, a non-existent deadline.
29. Colorado Rockies (-)
- Yeah, trading Hunter Goodman felt like an East Coast fever dream.
30. Los Angeles Angels (-)
- Is Arte Moreno actually listening to John Mozeliak? Amazing.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Red Sox keep foot on the gas through trade deadline