Phils' Deadline haul includes 3-time batting champ, pair of relievers, new glove for Bryce

BALTIMORE -- Last Monday, Bryce Harper pointed to the back of his locker at loanDepot park in Miami. There sat his outfielder’s glove.

“Just in case they make a trade,” Harper said.

Harper said he would play right field again, if the Phillies had an opportunity to upgrade the offense before Monday’s Trade Deadline. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski read those comments and asked interim manager Don Mattingly to talk to Harper about it. Yes, Harper told Mattingly last week, he would play right field again. Harper texted Dombrowski late Sunday night to reiterate his willingness to change positions to help the team.

“I know everybody thinks it's crap when I say it, but it's not,” Harper said Monday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. “I think any chance that we have an opportunity to win, I’d do anything for this organization, and they know that.”

The Phillies on Monday acquired second baseman Luis Arraez and right-hander Caleb Kilian from the Giants for prospects Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair. Three Phillies will change positions to make Arraez fit. Bryson Stott will move from second to third base, Alec Bohm will move from third to first base and Harper will play right field for the first time since 2022, when he injured his right elbow.

TRADE DETAILS
Phillies receive: INF Luis Arraez, RHP Caleb Kilian
Giants receive: RHP Ramon Marquez (SF's No. 7 prospect), RHP Marty Gair

Phillies receive: LHP Brooks Raley
Mets receive: OF John Spikerman (NYM's No. 28 prospect), RHP Luke Gabrysh

“His volunteering opened up the door for us to go ahead and get an infielder,” Dombrowski said. “Because if he didn't want to go to the outfield, we wouldn't have been able to add another infielder at this point.”

The Phillies also acquired left-hander Brooks Raley from the Mets for prospects John Spikerman and Luke Gabrysh, Triple-A outfielder Colby Thomas from the A’s for right-hander Seth Johnson and Minor League right-hander Manuel Colon and cash from the Royals for right-hander Nolan Hoffman.

“We’re very thrilled with the moves that we’ve made,” Dombrowski said. “I feel very good about our ballclub. You look at how you match up with everybody. Our first goal is to make the playoffs, so I hope we're dealing with other people, other clubs in the postseason.”

The Phils did not acquire a right-handed bat, pointing to the recent eight-game performance of outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. Derek Hill, whom they acquired from the White Sox on June 11, hit the go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning of the Phillies' 6-3 victory over the Nationals on Monday night. Both are expected to platoon the rest of the season.

The Phillies did not acquire starting-pitching depth, although roughly 15 starters were traded before the Deadline, including Robbie Ray, José Soriano, Casey Mize, Clay Holmes, Foster Griffin, Dustin May, Spencer Arrighetti, Braxton Garrett, Kris Bubic, Kevin Gausman, Freddy Peralta, Tyler Mahle, Tarik Skubal, Luis Castillo and Dean Kremer.

It left Dombrowski “a little” concerned about the organization’s starting-pitching depth, but it’s a risk the front office was willing to take.

The Phils will move forward with rookie Andrew Painter as the No. 5 starter.

“You always want to get better at every position,” Dombrowski said. “But we feel, if we can make it to the postseason, our starting rotation is in really solid shape. Other people are looking to add to their top three. In our situation, that really wasn't a necessity. So if we were going to do it and add somebody, they would have had to be significantly better, in our opinion, than Andrew.”

But the focal point of this Deadline is Arraez, not only because he can hit, but because of his effect on the defense.

“Sometimes you have to take a little bit of an adventurous look at your club when you look at moving positions around,” Dombrowski said. “We think it will work for us.”

Dombrowski said they never discussed moving Trea Turner from shortstop to the outfield, which would have allowed Bohm and Harper to remain in place.

“He’s our shortstop,” he said.

The Phillies believe Arraez, who will be a free agent after the season, will help an offense that has been wildly inconsistent at best. They are tied for 28th in the Major Leagues with a .304 on-base percentage. They are 16th in baseball, averaging 4.38 runs per game. They also have scored one or zero runs 26 times, which is third in baseball.

Arraez is batting .324 with four home runs, 43 RBIs and an .800 OPS. He has walked 25 times and struck out 21 times in 464 plate appearances. His strikeout rate (4.5 percent) is by far the lowest out of 150 qualified hitters in baseball.

“We added a leading hitter in the league to the offense, and a different type of hitter than we have,” Dombrowski said. “Somebody that gets on base, sets the stage for some of our big guys, doesn't strike out as often, can do things with the bat. So we really like that addition. We also like his personality, his makeup with the ballclub.”

Kilian is 3-6 with a 4.26 ERA in 45 appearances, striking out 53 and walking 20 in 44 1/3 innings. Raley is 5-5 with a 1.96 ERA, striking out 40 and walking 15 in 41 1/3 innings. Raley has been effective against both left-handers (.542 OPS) and right-handers (.637 OPS) this season.

They will provide depth to a bullpen that has struggled to get the ball to closer Jhoan Duran.

Marquez was the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect in the system. Spikerman ranked 27th. Gair and Gabrysh were not ranked.

Could the Phillies have done more? Sure. Dombrowski said they were unwilling to meet the asking prices for certain talent. He also said, however, they were unable to meet the asking prices for other talent.

“But not in many cases,” he said.

It is unclear if the Phillies made an offer or not to Detroit for Skubal, who was the ultimate prize, although it is almost certain they could not have beaten the Dodgers’ offer. One rumor that they offered Gage Wood, Justin Crawford and Jonathan Bowlan to Detroit was utterly false.

Asked if the Phillies made Detroit an offer for Skubal, Dombrowski declined to comment.

But the Phillies got Arraez. They got a couple of arms for the bullpen.

They hope they help them make the postseason.

“I think he's done a great job,” Harper said about Dombrowski’s trades. “Obviously, it's been a good Deadline -- Arraez, Raley, Kilian. I don't know if we're done or not. So, we'll see after 6 o'clock.”