Rankings/List

The MLB All-Star break has arrived, and while our attention will turn to the festivities in San Diego for the next few days, we are also just a couple of weeks from this year's Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

So how do our MLB power rankings shape up heading into the break?

The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers continued to limp their way into the break, and we again have a new No. 1 team after the Cleveland Indians charged to the top spot last week but were unable to hold on.

With the MLB All-Star break nearly upon us, the vast majority of the players who comprise this week's All-Dud team will have to wait nearly a week before getting a shot at redemption.

For some, the chance to step away from the game and clear their heads will rectify what ails them at the plate. For others, such a lengthy layoff will only exacerbate their struggles. Sadly, there's no over-the-counter remedy available to cure players of the funk, and what works for one may not work for another.

The two teams that played in last year’s World Series lost key pitchers this week. New York Mets starter Matt Harvey was lost for the year, while Kansas City Royals closer Wade Davis landed on the 15-day disabled list.

Both players were major contributors to their respective teams.

The better news came from Davis who is eyeing a return on July 16 and will skip the All-Star festivities to focus on his health.

For other teams, though, MLB’s Week 14 had a positive undertone. Which teams might those be?

From David Ortiz to Johnny Cueto to Jose Bautista, the Dominican Republic is an MLB star-producing factory unlike any other.

This season, Big Papi, Johnny Beisbol and Joey Bats are among the 106 Dominicans who have graced the biggest stage with their presence.

The Chicago Cubs finally relinquished their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in our MLB power rankings last week. Now, for the second straight week, we have a new top team.

With one week to go until the All-Star break and teams starting to get a better picture of whether they'll be buyers or sellers at the deadline, trade talks figure to heat up once the second half of the season begins.

While Homer Simpson is sure to be a fan of the No. 13 (a baker's dozen, resulting in one extra donut), the number has long been thought to be unlucky. Elevators in office buildings around New York City and other locales skip what should be the 13th floor entirely.

Chances are that the players who earned a spot on this week's All-Dud team would agree it's a terrible number—even if it's the one on the back of their jerseys.

All of a sudden, Cleveland has turned into the center of the sports universe.

Just weeks removed from the Cavaliers winning the 2015-16 NBA championship, the Indians are still riding a 14-game winning streak. And entering play Saturday with an AL Central-leading record of 49-30, you could argue they are World Series contenders.

Heck, Cleveland could play .500 baseball the rest of the way and probably would still make the playoffs. So it’s more than safe to pencil them into the October picture.

It’s probably reasonable to do it in erasable pen.

The month of July has arrived, and that means the MLB trade market is set to kick into high gear ahead of the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

There is still a lot to be sorted out over the next few weeks, as teams on the fringe of contention are forced to make the tough decision between buying, selling or standing pat.

While those eventual decisions could alter the trade market as more teams become clear-cut sellers, for now we can already get a good read on what the trade block is expected to look like.

For the first time all season, we have a new No. 1 team in our weekly MLB power rankings.

The Chicago Cubs have had a stranglehold on the top spot since Opening Day, but between a pair of series losses last week and a 9-11 record in their last 20 games, the gap has officially closed.

The Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles comprised the rest of the top five last week, and one of them managed to leap-frog the Cubs. That's as much as we'll say here.

Spoiler Alert: For the first time in weeks, Prince Fielder does not appear on our All-Dud Team. Texas' husky designated hitter simply played his way out of consideration. But don't think for a second that means we don't have any players making another appearance on a team nobody wants to play for.