Every week, the Pitcher List team will publish an update to our power rankings, highlighting three teams among the different tiers of contention. As always, the full rankings can be found at the bottom of this article, but where’s the fun in that?
The trade deadline came and went in a hurry, as some moves were confirmed hours after the 6pm ET cut-off. While most of the transactions were predictable in terms of clear buyers and sellers, there were still enough surprises to consider this day a special one for baseball, with plenty of ramifications for 2026 and beyond.
In this vein, today we highlight three teams that followed completely different strategies. To start, the NL-best Brewers stood mostly pat in a season where going all-in looked like a real possibility. In the middle tier, the Orioles made a surprise move involving a franchise stalwart. At the bottom, the Blue Jays kept hope alive while moving around some key pieces of their pennant-winning roster.
This is Week 19 of Power Rankings, as the new-look rosters around the league give us a perfect chance to project and speculate.
Contender
No.2 Milwaukee Brewers (69-43, +134 run differential)
Last May, the Brewers inducted C.C. Sabathia into their Wall of Fame, adding a touching exclamation point to a Hall of Fame career for the hulking lefty. Many wondered if this honor was deserved, as Sabathia only played 17 regular-season games for the franchise, while adding a playoff clunker before leaving in free agency. In Milwaukee, though, there was no doubt that C.C. was a worthy addition to the franchise’s wall of immortality, as his presence during that famous 2008 playoff run was a turning point for the Brewers. On a similar note, the 2026 Brewers had the chance of pursuing a Sabathia-like rental for their stretch run; this time, it would not be acquired to reach the playoffs, but rather to elevate the talent level of a team that has constantly struggled to break through in October. Alas, a front office that was linked to Tarik Skubal or even to a reunion with Freddy Peralta decided to stay content with what they have, adding nothing more than depth pieces.
Live look at the brewers front office during the trade deadline pic.twitter.com/yRpKNPnmrE
— TVJones (@StooliePicks) August 3, 2026
In a vacuum, this line of thinking is defensible. The Brewers have the best record in baseball and are a lock to make the playoffs, with a roster perfectly constructed to avoid long losing streaks or concerning slumps from their best players. Unlike other October runs, they do finally have a generational pitcher, with Jacob Misiorowski primed to win his first Cy Young with his blazing fastball and unfair secondary pitches. And yet, the Brewers have been firsthand witnesses to the limitations of their well-rounded brand of baseball once the games get reduced to a short series with the highest of stakes on the line. During their remarkable run of seven playoff appearances in eight years, Milwaukee has only won two series, twice falling to the Dodgers in the NLCS, including a humbling sweep in 2025.
Even as their organizational approach is unique, baseball in 2026 almost demands a little boldness from any franchise that wishes to create a memorable October. The Dodgers may be on a league of their own, but the rest of MLB standing pat makes it easier to think that their three-peat is inevitable. In that regard, the Brewers may still find a way to finish with the best record in the league again, but they could end up regretting their lack of ambition.
As if the baseball gods were sending a message, August has started with a rare Miz loss to the Angels (!!!) and a home defeat against the Pirates, just as their NL Central foes are playing their best baseball of the season. The Cubs may be still several games behind Milwaukee, but they did address their biggest needs and went all-in for pitching, possibly creating a tight race for the division in the stretch run. The Brewers still have six games left against Chicago and a four-game series in Los Angeles to face Dodgers, and Skubal potentially, adding more what-ifs to the equation. The league’s current system may be unfavorable for small-market teams, but it would have been nice to see the Brewers throw caution to the wind and see if someone could match Sabathia’s magic.
The Middle
No. 19 Baltimore Orioles (54-58, -35 run differential)
Much like most of the American League, the Orioles are alive in the playoff race, even as they have spent most of 2026 showing that they are not really a playoff team. A 15-8 showing in July gave Baltimore its first winning month of the season, with an impressive seven-game winning streak that could have swayed the front office regarding the team’s status as a possible contender. With the chance of chasing that high, and in year one of betting big on the likes of Pete Alonso and Shane Baz, Baltimore’s front office has pivoted towards a conservative approach for this season while also sending away the biggest representative of the franchise’s most recent era.
Thank you, Adley 🧡
For everything you've meant to Birdland, on and off the field.
Wishing you all the best in your next chapter. pic.twitter.com/68AZZjqiHJ
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 3, 2026
Before the deadline, several names were floated as possible trade targets in Baltimore, including Jackson Holliday and Kyle Bradish. The Orioles jumped the gun and traded Dean Kremer, while further moves included Tyler Wells and Taylor Ward, but the seismic decision to move Adley Rutschman could become a defining moment for GM Mike Elias. Even as the franchise catcher was on the IL, he had enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance, posting a .764 OPS in his age-28 season. The fact that Rutschman was moved to the division-rival Red Sox will make it even more controversial, regardless of the promising return and the fact that Baltimore has Samuel Basallo slated to be the catcher of the future.
Post-trade reports suggest that Rutschman had no intention of signing a long-term extension to stay in Baltimore, and with only one more season of team control, this was a good moment to get something back. On the other hand, the possibility of this move coming back to bite the Orioles is real, as Boston has the resources to keep Rutschman for a long time and turn him into a franchise cornerstone. Staying strictly in 2026, these moves may not represent a white flag considering the state of the AL, but they do weaken a roster that had little room to spare if they wanted to make a push.
While the Orioles have a couple of easy series to bookend August against the A’s and Angels, the middle of the month is full of matchups against playoff hopefuls from both leagues, including a rough 10-game slate featuring nothing but the Rays and Yankees. It is quite likely that the franchise’s streak of years without a playoff win will extend to 14 years, and the fan base can now at least hope that this eventful deadline will mark the start of a new era for the Orioles. After several seasons of missed potential and prospects that did not live up to their hype, it was probably time for a different strategy. Still, sending your most recognizable player to a team that faces you thirteen times a year is probably not the best way to go.
Wait ‘Til 2027
No. 23 Toronto Blue Jays (53-60, -56 run differential)
As the trade deadline approached, the Toronto Blue Jays were in one of the league’s toughest spots, technically still in the playoff race but with dwindling hopes and no momentum whatsoever. The organization had enough veteran assets to flip and punt on the season, but it also had the responsibility of operating like the AL’s reigning champ, with fans still clinging to some hope of a late-season turnaround. After all, the state of the AL in 2026 suggests that almost any team is a hot run away from a playoff spot. And so, Toronto neither dismantled nor reloaded, but rather retained its status quo by simply shuffling around a few names.
Kevin Gausman has been one of the best things to happen to a Toronto sports franchise.
Not only has he been outstanding on the mound, but he’s represented the city on & off the field — leading by example and speaking up with poise and passion whenever something needs to be said. pic.twitter.com/mn46zSuO2w
— Blue Jays Dad (@BlueJaysDad) July 27, 2026
Letting go of fan favorites Kevin Gausman and Daulton Varsho, both of whom played important roles in 2025 and were productive for many seasons, is certainly a tough move to make, but it doesn’t sting as much when you receive MLB-quality veteran arms like José Soriano and Spencer Arrighetti, while also adding some intriguing prospects to the minor league system. The calculus for Toronto in 2026 remains pretty much unchanged, with playoff odds hovering below 10%, but with a firm commitment to at least remain competitive and provide a good product on the field for the fans in Canada.
This course of action may seem short-sighted, especially when we think about the uncertainty of the 2027 season, but the overall weakness of the AL and the team’s unmet expectations so far provided a scenario where Toronto’s front office could be justified in their decision to hold on to some hope. After all, the Blue Jays’ roster is still full of quality players, with a legit Cy Young candidate in Dylan Cease, a dominant late-game bullpen, and plenty of offensive contributors hoping to break out of their collective funk. Just in the past week, the Blue Jays won two series against good NL foes, and opened the post-deadline slate with a nice road win versus the red-hot Astros. In a division where the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox have seized control of the whole AL, it seems that the race to the bottom will feature eight teams battling for one final spot. Most of said teams failed to add significant talent or even unloaded some of their best players, while none of them have the playoff experience of these Blue Jays.
The onus for Toronto will be to find their best version in what projects to be a brutal August. From this week until the 23rd, the Jays will face nothing but winning squads, including matchups with the Phillies and all three of the AL East’s big boys. Toronto would need to go around 12-7 in this stretch to give itself a chance for a relevant September. Having Cease, Trey Yesavage, and now Soriano should give the team a chance, but it will be for naught unless the likes of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and George Springer start hitting to their capabilities. If the playoff push falls short, at least let’s hope that Vladdy can finally hit a homer at Rogers Centre.
