MLB Power Rankings Week 18: Every team's standing post-deadline - ESPN

A fair number of MLB teams look a little different than they did just a week ago.

With the 2023 trade deadline behind us, there are some faces in new places — and others in familiar ones, most notably Justin Verlander, who returned to Houston in the biggest deal on deadline day Tuesday. Mets teammate Max Scherzer fits the former category, as he was traded to Houston's American League West rival Texas prior to Verlander's move.

With all the movement over the past week, where does your favorite team stand now? And how was it impacted by this year's deadline?

Our expert panel has ranked every team in baseball based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 17 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

Record: 69-37

Previous ranking: 1

There was speculation the Braves might trade for a starter, which made sense because the rotation hasn't been anything special the past two months, with a 4.82 ERA in June and 4.59 in July. Instead, Atlanta just added around the edges with relievers Brad Hand and Pierce Johnson and infielder Nicky Lopez and took a flier on Yonny Chirinos, who allowed four runs in 3⅔ innings in his Braves debut. Instead, the team will rely on Max Fried, who could rejoin the rotation Friday, and Spencer Strider to get into a more consistent groove. Strider is still racking up the strikeouts — he just passed 200 — but has a 4.23 ERA over his past 14 starts. — Schoenfield

Record: 66-42

Previous ranking: 2

The new balanced schedule was supposed to benefit the American