Phillies trade for Luis Arráez, Brooks Raley in separate deals on deadline day
The Phillies kicked off MLB trade deadline day by acquiring a three-time batting champion and two relievers in two separate deals.
Philadelphia acquired second baseman Luis Arráez and right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian from the San Francisco Giants for pitching prospects Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair. The Phillies designated pitcher Lou Trivino and catcher Payton Henry for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Arráez and Kilian.
In a separate trade, the Phils acquired lefty reliever Brooks Raley from the New York Mets for outfield prospect John Spikerman and pitching prospect Luke Gabrysh. Nolan Hoffman was designated for assignment to make room for Raley.
Arráez is a three-time batting champ and four-time All-Star. He signed with the Giants on a one-year, $12 million contract in the offseason. He's hitting .324 with an .801 OPS and 43 RBIs in 105 games. He has more walks (25) than strikeouts (21).
In his eight years in the majors, the 29-year-old has 236 strikeouts to 255 walks. He has never struck out more than 48 times in a season.
Kilian, 29, has a 4.26 ERA in 45 games this season for San Francisco. He has a four-pitch mix, primarily relying on his four-seam fastball and knuckle curve. His Baseball Savant page shows a lot of red. The scale ranges from poor to average to great, with various shades of blue and red. Blue is poor and red is great.
Arráez's fit on the Phillies is tricky and will require an infield realignment. Arráez plays second base. According to multiple reports, the Phillies may shift Bryce Harper back to the outfield, Bryson Stott from second to third base and Alec Bohm from third to first base.
The Athletic reported the club is exploring several scenarios. One is keeping Harper at first, Bohm at third base and moving Stott to the outfield. The Athletic also reported a Bohm trade could happen by the 6 p.m. trade deadline.
Raley joins a Phillies bullpen needing a left-handed reliever. The 38-year-old has a 1.96 ERA and 1.6 bWAR in 45 games for the Mets. He primarily uses a sweeper and throws from a low three-quarters arm slot. He's especially difficult on lefty hitters (.186 average, .542 OPS) but also can handle righties (.216 average, .636 OPS).
