Six biggest World Series contenders after the trade deadline

Though trades can still happen via the waiver system in August, July 31 is generally the last chance teams get to make moves, shore up weaknesses, and prep themselves for a run at a World Series. Some contenders stand pat, either by choice or due to a lack of good options on the market. Others go for the jugular, swapping top prospects for quality players in a bid to ensure this year is their year.

It makes sense to reassess the state of the league after the deadline once the dust has settled, because trades do often change things.

Here are the six biggest World Series contenders in baseball now that the moves have been made and organizations are buckling in for the stretch run.

6) New York Yankees

The Yankees remain imperfect, perhaps overly reliant on young stars like Aaron Judge and Luis Severino to keep producing. The fact of the matter is, though, that these players have performed like stars, and as long as that continues, the Yankees are legitimate contenders for a title.

Their chances have been bolstered by general manager Brian Cashman’s aggressive trade deadline moves.

The Sonny Gray deal makes the Yankees better for years to come, and he should bolster the rotation in a big way. It’s the acquisition of Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle that should make them very tough to beat, because that gave their bullpen depth in spades.

The Yankees don’t have the extreme high-end talent and depth that they’ve had in the past, and they have been quite streaky at times in 2017, but they’re well-positioned for an October run.

5) Cleveland Indians

There was a lot of smoke, but little fire around the Indians at the trade deadline time. There didn’t really need to be, though, as Cleveland’s rotation is finally beginning to pitch to the best of their abilities, led as ever by Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. Danny Salazar’s resurgence has been enormous, as he has been very good in his first two starts since returning from the disabled list.

Cleveland has one of the best offenses in the American League and still has the super bullpen that was vital to their success last October, when they made it to Game 7 of the World Series. There is no reason they can’t do it again, even if they didn’t do anything significant at the deadline.

4) Washington Nationals

General manager Mike Rizzo spent most of July obsessively trying to patch up the bullpen, Washington’s one glaring weakness. He may well have succeeded, adding relievers Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, and Brandon Kintzler in two separate trades with Oakland and Minnesota. It’s safe to say that players won’t be quietly complaining about the front office’s inaction on that front anymore.

Washington is flying a bit under the radar due to the resurgence of the Chicago Cubs and the all-conquering Los Angeles Dodgers, but they should not be written off. Bryce Harper anchors one of baseball’s better lineups, and as long as Stephen Strasburg’s injury scares are kept to a minimum, they’ll have a very strong October rotation as well.

If they’ve patched up the bullpen, they’ll be a formidable foe for any NL opponent, and have the talent to win it all.

3) Chicago Cubs

The Cubs appear to be slowly recapturing the magic that carried them to a 2016 World Series title. Things looked very shaky when they went into the All-Star break at 43-45, 5.5 games behind the surging Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. Since them, they’ve turned things around and taken the lead in the division race.

Part of the reason for the improvement is better play. Part of it is down to the acquisition of Jose Quintana, who has been great since moving from the White Sox. Theo Epstein’s crew did not stop there, adding lefty reliever Justin Wilson and backup catcher Alex Avila for the stretch run.

The Cubs are back to being clear favorites in their division, and they’re going to be a very difficult opponent come October. There will be no curse hanging over their head this time, either.

2) Houston Astros

The Astros seem to be in worse shape than they actually are, but this is one team that badly needed to do something at the trade deadline and didn’t really make a splash. At this point, health is their biggest hindrance — Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers are hurt, and Dallas Keuchel has been hurt. Those are three vital players if the Astros want to make it to the World Series. And while they’re far enough ahead in the AL West that they don’t need them now, they certainly will need them healthy and at their best in the postseason.

Of course, there’s still so much talent everywhere else. The team is still 69-38 and, while their pace has slowed some, they’re still doing alright even without their injured stars. They need to be healthy once October comes around, though. If they are, they’re still the best team in the American League. If not, the Indians or Yankees will be huge threats to them.

1) Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s not really fair. Already loaded with talent and winning at a historic pace, the Dodgers only went and added another ace to their rotation in Yu Darvish. Now they sit 75-32, are pretty much a lock to win the NL West, and are clear favorites to win their first World Series since 1988.

Everything has gone right for them. This is an elite offensive team with great on-base skills, the requisite power hitters, young stars in Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager, and sound defense. The rotation is deep even with Clayton Kershaw shelved, and once he’s be back, they’ll have Darvish and Alex Wood to go along with him. They also have quality depth in the form of Rich Hill, Brandon McCarthy, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. The bullpen is anchored by the amazing Kenley Jansen and joined by Pedro Baez and a new weapon, Tony Watson, who has a long history of success as a lefty reliever.

This is a team with virtually no weaknesses. They didn’t need to get better on Monday, and yet they still did. The rest of the league should be very, very concerned.