The Philadelphia Phillies had been relatively quiet ahead of the Aug. 3 (6 p.m. EST) trade deadline, but that all changed Monday morning.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Phillies are acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez and right-hander Caleb Kilian from the San Francisco Giants. The Giants will receive right-handers Ramon Marquez (the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and Marty Gair.
Arraez, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, was one of the more coveted bats on the trade block for his hitting skills and ability to get on base.
As for Kilian, the 29-year-old will add another right-handed reliever to a Phillies bullpen that has struggled — the Phillies bullpen has a 4.40 ERA in 393.0 innings this season (24th in MLB). In 45 games out of the Giants bullpen, Kilian has a 3-6 record and a 4.26 ERA.
The Phillies get an elite bat-to-ball hitter in Luis Arraez
The Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski swung big in adding Arraez. The three-time batting champion (2022-24) will help deepen the Phillies’ lineup.
With a .324 batting average in 420 at-bats, Arraez is just six points behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the MLB lead. His .360 on-base percentage will immediately boost a Phillies lineup that has struggled to get on base consistently (at .304, Philadelphia’s OBP is the second-worst in baseball).
Arraez walks (25) more than he strikes out (21). His bat-to-ball skills could give interim manager Don Mattingly plenty of flexibility in setting the lineup.
According to reporting from MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the Phillies may move Bryce Harper back to fight field to allow for Arraez to play second base. Bryson Stott would slide over to third base in that scenario, with Alec Bohm moving to first base.