Ranking MLB Contenders After Los Angeles Dodgers-Boston Red Sox Blockbuster

To quote Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, "It's goin' down."

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Trade complete...MLB source tells me. #RedSox send Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford, Punto to #Dodgers for James Loney and 4 prospects. #wbz

— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) August 25, 2012

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In one fell swoop, the Red Sox begin the purge of their toxic clubhouse and a rebuilding process while the Dodgers add more All-Star-caliber pieces to position themselves not only for a run at the World Series in 2012, but for perpetual championship contention for the foreseeable future.

Are the Dodgers now the team to beat in the National League?

Let's find out.

1. Washington Nationals (77-48)

Washington continues to win, and Ryan Zimmerman continues to rake, landing the Nationals in the top spot.

Since the All-Star break, the Nationals third baseman has posted a .361/.433/.594 batting line with 20 XBH (8 HR) and 20 RBI—a big reason why the team boasts a 17-6 record in August and a 6.5-game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves.

While Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman are fully capable of leading the pitching staff into the postseason, there's no question that taking Stephen Strasburg out of the equation is going to hurt—and open the door even wider for the next team on our list to re-take the top spot.

But until that happens, the Nationals continue to reign supreme.

2. Cincinnati Reds (76-51)

Normally, when you take a perennial MVP candidate out of a team's lineup, it inevitably doesn't play as well.

Someone forgot to tell that to the Reds, who have posted a 26-13 record without Joey Votto in the lineup since mid-July.

With a Cy Young candidate at the front of the rotation in Johnny Cueto (16-6, 2.47 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.16 K/9) and another at the back end of the bullpen in Aroldis Chapman (5-4, 1.31 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 16.26 K/9, 31 SV), the Reds have not missed a beat.

Oh, I almost forgot—Votto doesn't think that he's too far away from making his return to the lineup (h/t USA Today).

That's bad news not only for the other contenders in the NL Central, but for the rest of the National League.

3. New York Yankees (73-52)

Much to the chagrin of Skip Bayless' belief that anyone over the age of 35 is incapable of having a good season, Derek Jeter keeps hitting at the age of 38 (.325/.367/.453, 13 HR, 43 RBI), and the Yankees, while their lead over the surging Rays is shrinking, remain atop the AL East.

Speaking of players over the age of 35 who are having excellent seasons, while 37-year-old Hiroki Kuroda isn't going to win the AL Cy Young Award, he certainly deserves mention (12-8, 2.96 ERA, 1.12 WHIP). More impressively, Kuroda has gone 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA since the All-Star break.

With Alex Rodriguez expected to return in early September and Andy Pettitte expected later in the month, the Yankees have reinforcements on the way to bolster their roster for the stretch run.

4. Texas Rangers (74-51)

Ryan Dempster put together the best start of his brief career with the Rangers against the Orioles this week, tossing eight innings of four-hit, one-run ball, walking two while striking out six. That's his second quality start in his last three outings, and if he's getting comfortable in his new surroundings, the Rangers are a more dangerous club than before.

Adrian Beltre has been on fire the past week (.500 BA, 5 HR, 9 RBI), hitting three home runs in one game and hitting for the cycle in another—only proving that the Rangers lineup is so deep that anyone can carry the club on any given night.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (70-56)

If MVP awards were truly given to the most valuable players, there's little question that Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria would be one of the front-runners in 2012.

Since Longoria returned to the lineup on Aug. 7, the Rays have posted a 15-3 record and erased much of the Yankees lead over them in the AL East—and this is without Longoria in mid-season form, as he's posted a rather pedestrian batting line of .254/.306/.382 with two home runs and 10 RBI.

The key to the Rays' success, of course, is their pitching. While Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander are both having excellent seasons, David Price would be my pick for the AL Cy Young Award. The first pitcher in baseball to 16 wins this season, Price has a 2.28 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and 167 strikeouts over 170 innings of work.

6. Atlanta Braves (71-55)

Chipper Jones continues to defy age and injury, Jason Heyward continues to put together a solid season and Craig Kimbrel remains the best closer in baseball.

After the Braves finish their current series in San Francisco, they only have six games remaining against contenders—three against the Nationals and three against the Pirates to end the season.

There's no reason they can't go on a run heading into the playoffs.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers (68-58)

Josh Beckett has been awful in Boston this season, but there's no question that when he's motivated, the 32-year-old can still be a highly effective starting pitcher. With the change of scenery and a move to a league without the designated hitter, Beckett could be reborn in Los Angeles.

Adrian Gonzalez never really seemed like a great fit in Boston, and a move back to the West Coast can only make him feel more comfortable. To call him an upgrade over the James Loney-Juan Rivera platoon that the Dodgers had been using at first base is an understatement—Gonzalez is a game-changer.

Think about what the top half of the Dodgers lineup looks like now: Shane Victorino, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez.

Not too shabby.

8. San Francisco Giants (71-55)

No team will be affected more by the Dodgers' move than the Giants, who held a three-game lead in the NL West over Los Angeles entering Friday night's games.

While the Dodgers have added multiple pieces, the Giants one addition—Hunter Pence—has been awful thus far, with a .195/.240/.310 batting line, one home run and 16 RBI over his first 22 games in a Giants uniform.

Despite Pence's struggles at the plate, the Giants keep winning, thanks to outstanding pitching and timely hitting.

Don't be surprised to see GM Brian Sabean make a move before the end of the month in an effort to keep pace with the Dodgers and maintain the team's slim lead in the division.

9. Chicago White Sox (69-55)

Thanks to resurgent seasons from Adam Dunn and Alexi Rios, the emergence of Chris Sale as the ace of the pitching staff, and Paul Konerko returning from a concussion, the White Sox are in decent shape as we draw closer to Labor Day.

With Jake Peavy, Jose Quintana and Francisco Liriano all throwing the ball well, the Sox have four solid starting pitchers to count on down the stretch, not something that every team can claim.

While they swept the Yankees in three games earlier this week, they were also swept by the Royals—they'll need to beat the teams they are supposed to beat if they want to keep the Tigers at bay.

10. St. Louis Cardinals (69-56)

Allen Craig continues to put up impressive numbers for the Cardinals—.318/.379/.582 with 19 home runs and 68 RBI in 83 games played—and remains one of the more underrated players in the game today.

But the Cardinals offense doesn't start and end with Craig, as Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and David Freese have all put together excellent campaigns thus far in 2012.

So much for Lance Berkman's injury being a major problem for the offense.

We can say the same thing about Chris Carpenter and the pitching staff: Kyle Lohse (13-2, 2.61 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) has taken his game to another level while Adam Wainwright, Jake Westbrook and Lance Lynn have been solid contributors all season long.

11. Detroit Tigers (67-58)

It's not a stretch to say that the Tigers could have both the AL MVP and AL Cy Young Award winners for the second consecutive season, though both awards won't land in the lap of Justin Verlander again.

Miguel Cabrera continues to prove why he's arguably the best player in baseball, with a .327/.394/.591 batting line, 32 home runs and 106 RBI, while Verlander does the same from the mound, with a 12-7 record, 2.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

While they continue to trail the White Sox for the lead in the AL Central, the Tigers won't go away—and with seven games remaining against the division leaders, Jim Leyland's club will have its chances to overtake the White Sox.

Whether the Tigers can pull it off is another story altogether.

12. Baltimore Orioles (68-57)

Whether the Orioles make the playoffs or not, Buck Showalter deserves the AL Manager of the Year Award, as no manager has done more with less.

Baltimore is solid offensively and has an excellent bullpen, but the Orioles' starting pitching has been so-so all season long.

Rookie Wei-Yin Chen has been excellent, and while the Orioles have won three of his four starts in August, he's pitched to a 5.16 ERA and 1.55 WHIP—not good numbers for anyone, especially for the ace of a pitching staff on a team trying to make the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

There's no disputing where they are in the standings, and that's in a three-way-tie for the AL Wild Card.

That being said, you start to get the feeling that the team might still be one or two pieces away from truly making a run in the playoffs.

13. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-58)

Losers of four games in a row and seven of their last 10, the Pirates are beginning to slide in the wrong direction.

Andrew McCutchen remains the favorite for NL MVP honors, but the Bucs' pitching staff has begun to show cracks in its armor.

Both A.J. Burnett and James McDonald have pitched to ERAs over 5.00 in August, with Wandy Rodriguez not far off, at 4.92. As a matter of fact, Jeff Karstens is the only Pirates starter to have an ERA under 4.00 for the month—and he's the fifth starter in the rotation.

Pittsburgh isn't out of it by any means, but its pitching needs to slam on the brakes and turn things around before it gets too late.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks (64-62)

Arizona continues to hang out on the periphery of the playoff race, not out of contention but not close to having a postseason spot locked up, either.

With the Dodgers' new acquisitions and the Giants still having one of the best rotations in baseball, it's hard to see the Diamondbacks making a big move for the NL West crown, even with their success against the two teams in front of them earlier this season.

As for the wild-card spots, there are five teams ahead of them—and that means the Diamondbacks not only have to win their games, but will need help from other teams, as well.

Playing the part of spoiler is probably what lies in store for Kirk Gibson and company heading down the stretch.