So this is what the New York Yankees look like when they’re healthy. I mentioned last week upon coming out of the All-Star break, when they faced Seattle and before taking on AL East rival Baltimore, that it was time for the Yankees to take care of business. They were 3.5 games atop the AL East entering the second half of the season. Today after sweeping the struggling Orioles right out of The Bronx, the Yankees are 5.5 up on second place Toronto.

Masahiro Tanaka was solid, limiting the Orioles all day, going 7.2 strong innings. He did give up 3 solo home runs but the Yankees’ offense put the game away early. The bullpen for which the Yankees owe a lot of their success features dominating numbers: 51-0 leading after the eighth inning. 45-2 leading after seven. 40-2 leading after six. The Yankees as a club are 42-13 when scoring first — their 86 first inning runs are the best of any club in the majors. The Yankees are 12-4 in July, and for a team that has certainly gotten hot at the right time, the majority of talk around this time of year centers around trade deadline day. While I have thought about their options with regards to who they could trade for, I have largely decided towards keeping the prospects, aside from catcher Gary Sanchez if only because the Yankees’ catcher position is locked up for the foreseeable future; John Ryan Murphy‘s three hits today helps show why he is the definitive backup behind Brian McCann.

In recent days the club has been linked to Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman. Both are signed beyond this season, Chapman a free agent after the 2016 season. The aforementioned Yankees’ bullpen numbers above, just imagine Chapman’s 102 mph fastball in the 9th inning, with Andrew Miller in the 8th, and the six-foot-eight Dellin Betances in the 7th. Or however that order would go. While I consider a trade for a closer a long shot, at least those potential pitching trade targets are signed beyond this season, softening the blow of giving up a touted prospect should the Yankees decide to go down that road. While GM Brian Cashman has stopped short of calling his teams’ prospects “untouchable,” he isn’t about to give up anyone easily.

Most analysts predicted the AL East would remain tight all season; however, the Yankees are proving they are the team to beat. With the trade of Scott Kazmir to the Houston Astros today, it’s just a matter of time before the rest of the chips fall. Just a little over one week from the deadline, things are going to get real interesting.

William Chase is a New York Yankees writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @William_Chase88 or add him to your network on LinkedIn and Google.