Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.We have unmistakably entered trade season. It kicked off this weekend with the Red Sox and Nationals swapping Connelly Early for Curtis Mead, and it will continue through Monday’s always frantic trade deadline.And if last year is any indication, it could be a slow build to a final flurry.The next time we do Power Rankings, the trade deadline will have come and gone, and we’ll be better able to look ahead. For this week, we’re going to look back. Are teams up or down compared to this time last year, and what does that tell us about their direction since the 2025 trade deadline? And what might they be prepared to do in the next week?All stats are through Monday morning unless otherwise noted. 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (Average ranking: 1.2)Record: 67-39
Last Power Ranking: 1Power Ranking a year ago: 1
How they reacted: Trading for depth pieces and … other teams’ minor-league prospects?
This year: All in, as alwaysWas last year’s Dodger deadline a sign of arrogance, or simply a sign that they had run out of wants and needs? They traded for Alex Call as a RHP-masher off the bench, and they got a few innings of Brock Stewart, but that was mostly it at the major-league level. Pretty cute for a team that had to be saved by Miguel freaking Rojas at the last second.The strangest part about the last Dodgers deadline, though, is how much effort they spent acquiring other teams’ prospects. This is when they wormed their way into James Tibbs III, who might be the key piece in another deadline deal in a much different way. Basically, it was a deadline when the Dodgers reminded you that they’re smarter than everyone else, as they’re wont to do. — Grant Brisbee2. Milwaukee Brewers (1.8)Record: 66-40
