Ranking the 30 MLB Teams after the trade deadline

Which MLB teams are going for it after a pivotal trade deadline? Ranking all 30 teams:

#1: Los Angeles Dodgers 

#2: Boston Red Sox 

#30: Los Angeles Angels 

One reason we love the trade deadline is that it’s a moment of real transparency: Front offices tell you exactly what they think of their team with how they operate before the deadline. This year at The Athletic, we’ve tracked each team’s ambition through the final week leading into the deadline, looking at who’s all-in on 2026 and who’s waiting for a different competitive window.

For our final summary of the Ambition Index, we’re renaming and redefining some of our tiers:

Tier 1: World Series or bust — Teams that could consider this season a disappointment if they only win the pennant.

Tier 2: Oh, we’re going for it — Teams that were especially aggressive at the deadline, sacrificing real future value for the present.

Tier 3: Contending sustainably — Teams that are in it every year and aim to remain in it every year, which limits their aggressiveness at the deadline.

Tier 4: Did we do enough? — Teams with a lot invested in 2026 that made solid moves but still seem short of pennant contention.

Tier 5: Let’s roll the dice in October — Teams that have improved their chances to get to the postseason without really moving their odds of winning a pennant.

Tier 6: Pulling back — Teams that could have gone in more aggressively but decided instead to stand pat or sell a little.

Tier 7: On to 2027 — Teams that operated as standard sellers.

Tier 8: Time to start over — Teams that decided now was the time to start overhauling the roster over the next few seasons.

These aren’t a ranking of the best deadlines or even the teams best positioned the rest of the way. This is more narrowly focused on how these teams viewed themselves at the deadline.

Updated MLB Ambition Index

Tier 1 (1)

Dodgers

Tier 2 (2)

Red Sox

Tier 3 (3)

Brewers

Tier 2 (4)

Tier 3 (4)

Rays

Tier 2 (3)

Tier 3 (5)

Yankees

Tier 2 (2)

Tier 3 (6)

Braves

Tier 2 (5)

Tier 4 (7)

Cubs

Tier 3 (6)

Tier 4 (8)

Phillies

Tier 3 (8)

Tier 4 (9)

White Sox

Tier 3 (10)

Tier 4 (10)

Guardians

Tier 3 (9)

Tier 4 (11)

Astros

Tier 4 (11)

Tier 5 (12)

Padres

Tier 4 (15)

Tier 5 (13)

Pirates

Tier 4 (13)

Tier 5 (14)

Twins

Tier 4 (12)

Tier 5 (15)

Mariners

Tier 4 (16)

Tier 5 (16)

Diamondbacks

Tier 4 (14)

Tier 6 (17)

Rangers

Tier 4 (18)

Tier 6 (18)

Marlins

Tier 5 (19)

Tier 6 (19)

Nationals

Tier 6 (21)

Tier 7 (20)

Blue Jays

Tier 6 (22)

Tier 7 (21)

Cardinals

Tier 5 (20)

Tier 7 (22)

Tigers

Tier 6 (23)

Tier 7 (23)

Orioles

Tier 4 (17)

Tier 7 (24)

Athletics

Tier 6 (24)

Tier 7 (25)

Reds

Tier 6 (26)

Tier 7 (26)

Giants

Tier 7 (27)

Tier 7 (27)

Mets

Tier 7 (28)

Tier 7 (28)

Royals

Tier 7 (29)

Tier 7 (29)

Rockies

Tier 6 (25)

Tier 8 (30)

Angels

Tier 1:

Los Angeles Dodgers remained alone in Tier 1, as was almost certainly going to be the case when they acquired Tarik Skubal on Saturday night. No one else did enough to make you favor them over Los Angeles in an October series.

Tier 2:

Boston Red Sox were Monday’s most aggressive team, giving up big-time prospects to land Adley Rutschman from the division-rival Baltimore Orioles. Boston is looking to capitalize on its recent hot stretch to emerge as a strong contender for the American League pennant.

Tier 3:

The Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves still occupy the “Contending sustainably” tier, though that has dropped from Tier 2 to Tier 3. All added, with Tampa Bay and Milwaukee giving up some real prospect value to do so. But their systems are good enough that it still doesn’t feel as if they’ve pushed a huge stack of chips in on 2026.

Tier 4:

In the National League, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies occupy Tier 4, with a potential NLDS matchup in their future. Both faced uphill climbs to chase down division leaders, both added in real ways anyway, and both feel like they’ll still be October underdogs. (Blame it on the NL.) The Cubs picked up a pair of October starters in Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, as well as a potential big-time reliever in Ryan Zeferjahn. The Phillies made their big move for Luis Arraez, shifting their defense around to make it work. Brooks Raley and Caleb Kilian should help in the ‘pen as well. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros land here from the AL. Put them in the NL, and we’d probably push them down a tier, below the Cubs and Phils. But there’s a real opportunity for any of these teams to land a first-round bye by claiming their divisions.

Tier 5:

The teams in Tier 5 look mainly content to get to October, eschewing the major moves that could alter their odds to advance in the postseason. Here we’re talking about the wild-card races for the final few spots. In the NL, that’s the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks; in the AL, it’s the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners. The Twins made three deals, and the Mariners are hoping Taylor Ward solves their issues from the right side of the plate

Tier 6, we have three teams still in the race that largely operated as sellers. The Texas Rangers were curiously inactive, unwilling to add and unable to unload any of their bigger names. The Miami Marlins traded away Liam Hicks and Lake Bachar, and the Washington Nationals sold high on Luis García Jr. and Foster Griffin — moves that help the future but considerably damage their chances to hang around this year.

Our group of sellers in Tier 7 grew considerably as the deadline approached. The Toronto Blue Jays did a bit of buying with José Soriano but traded away Gausman, Daulton Varsho and Jeff Hoffman. The Orioles looked like potential buyers earlier in the week; instead, they traded away a one-time franchise cornerstone, albeit for a huge haul of prospects. The San Francisco Giants and New York Mets mainly traded away impending free agents while not stepping back into full rebuild mode.

• And alone in Tier 8, we have the Los Angeles Angels, which isn’t necessarily a denigration of their deadline. This is the kind of deadline the Angels have needed for a while, as they dealt Jo Adell and Soriano with team control remaining. Los Angeles didn’t go as far as it could have — Reid Detmers and Zach Neto are still there, to say nothing of Mike Trout — but it’s a solid step in a needed direction.