1 Wild Card rival the Royals bested at the deadline, 1 that could pose a problem

The Kansas City Royals have to be thrilled about their performance at the trade deadline. They entered with clear needs that had to be addressed if they had any desire to contend for a postseason spot and they addressed them all.

Did the Royals blow anyone away when it came to their moves? No. They opted for smaller-scale deals that gave them an undoubted boost now and didn't mortgage the future by any means considering they still have an uphill battle to obtain October baseball.

This means though that they both bested some teams at the deadline, but also had inferior deadlines to others.

Both of these scenarios come up when analyzing the American League Wild Card picture, which could have some serious impact on the Royals' postseason hopes either way.

The Royals had a far better trade deadline than the Boston Red Sox

After an offseason defined by blockbuster deals that saw the likes of Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman head to Fenway, postseason hopes were back on.

And despite the shocking trade of Rafael Devers in mid-June, the Red Sox still found themselves right in the potseason hunt come the postseason.

They were linked to some major names come deadline day that could've potentially push them over the top, like Joe Ryan and Dylan Cease to improve their middling rotation beyond Crochet.

However, the trade deadline came and went and all they were left with is a decent long-man in the bullpen in Steven Matz and a struggling starter in Dustin May.

Now, they still have a Top 10 offense in baseball and any pitching staff lead by the likes Crochet in the rotation and Aroldis Chapman in bullpen has promise, meaning the big-market Red Sox had a chance to really go big and position themselves alongside the AL's best.

However, they seem like their only marginally better if anything, meaning the notably improved Royals, who have a new look outfield and a new lease on life in the rotation with so much starter depth - that will only get deeper when Cole Ragans and Michael Lorenzen return - could look to claw their way above Boston.

The Royals square off with the Red Sox next week for three games, meaning they could take advantage of some recent momentum of both better play and a successful trade deadline to cut the deficit between them.

The Royals may need to worry about how strong the Seattle Mariners deadline was

Then, there's the Seattle Mariners, who may only hold the AL's final Wild Card spot, but they shopped like World Series contenders, landing some of the biggest fish on the market.

They already had one of the league's best rotations, lead by the quartet of Bryan Woo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo. But they now sport one of the more feared lineups in the game.

The bolstered the corner infield in the biggest way possible landing first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks and then on the eve of deadline day, going back to the desert to snag one the most coveted names on the trade market in third baseman Eugenio Suárez.

Naylor and Suárez join the the likes of Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguz and Randy Arozarena among others to form an extremely fear-inducing batting order.

This spells bad news for the American League, as the Mariners saw a wide open league and doubled down on the opportunity to capitalize on it, in their quest to capture the franchise's first World Series.

The Royals, who sit 3.5 games below the Mariners, square off against them for three more before the season is done. While they may have split their last series against them, it may be tricky to try and gain some ground on them - even if they're at home.