MLB Power Rankings: Boston Red Sox Soar Towards Top

The Boston Red Sox stand tall in latest batch of MLB Power Rankings.

The Boston Red Sox have been among the most aggressive teams this off season. With a young and exciting offense filled with upside, their obvious needs entering this off season centered around pitching. Well, after signing David Price to lead the starting staff, and bringing in relief aces Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith to help the bullpen, the Red Sox have undoubtedly drastically improved.

Now, this may not mean much now, but it is a way to see where the Red Sox stack up against other teams in all of baseball. According to the latest MLB Power Rankings put together by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, the Red Sox are starting to stack up extremely well. Ranked among the elite in all of Major League Baseball, Reuter has the Red Sox placed as the fifth best team in the MLB.

The Red Sox jumped from number 12 to fifth in these latest MLB Power Rankings, the highest leap for any other team from the previous set. With their recent additions of John Lackey and Ben Zobrist, the Chicago Cubs take the top spot on this list, followed by the Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Red Sox to round out the top five.

The Red Sox are not only currently ranked as the second-best AL East team, it is the second-highest ranking for any American League team. Clearly, Reuter believes the Red Sox additions this off season will make them serious competitors again. I cannot help but agree.

Here is what Reuter had to say about the Red Sox:

"Perhaps a top-five ranking is being bullish on the 2016 Boston Red Sox at this point, but for a team with tremendous offensive potential and clear needs on the pitching side of things, the additions of David Price, Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith are just what the doctor ordered. The rotation may not look great behind Price, but keep in mind that Rick Porcello (11 GS, 4-6, 3.53 ERA) and Joe Kelly (11 GS, 8-1, 3.77 ERA) both pitched very well in the second half last season, and a healthy Clay Buchholz is still capable of being a difference-maker.As for the bullpen, Kimbrel gives them one of the most dominant arms in the game. and the 26-year-old Smith showed flashes of that same kind of potential as a rookie when he tallied 13 saves and 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings.One more bullpen piece would be nice, particularly one of the left-handed variety, but right now the Red Sox look capable of making a serious run at contention once again."

Dave Dombrowski has done an incredible job of filling the holes on this already talented team. The Red Sox are an exciting young team who has a chance to take a massive step in the right direction next season. It will be interesting to see what they can pull off.

Next: What Would Red Sox Trade for Jose Fernandez Look Like?

Obviously, MLB Power Rankings mean very little in the grand scheme of things, but it is certainly interesting and exciting to see the Red Sox standing up so well in comparison to the rest of the league. This off season has been extremely successful thus far, and has put the Red Sox in a strong position to compete next season.