Phillies trade for Luis Arráez, Brooks Raley in separate deals on deadline day

By Tom Dougherty

Bryce Harper asked for help last week. On Monday, the two-time National League Most Valuable Player got some.

The Phillies acquired a three-time batting champion and two relievers in separate deals on MLB trade deadline day.

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 then designated pitcher Lou Trivino and catcher Payton Henry for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Arráez and Kilian.

“Anytime you put a guy like Luis into the lineup, it’s a jolt,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said.

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. Hoffman was later traded to the Kansas City Royals for Manuel Colon and some cash.

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.

“It’s a guy who can win the batting title a couple years and somebody who is going to put the bat on the ball,” Harper said. “Exciting player. He just brings a lot to our lineup. He has that hit tool. He’s somebody who can be really good for us.”

Arráez’s fit on the Phillies is tricky and requires midseason surgery on the alignments.

Mattingly said before the club’s game Monday that Arráez will play second base with Bryson Stott shifting from second to third base and Alec Bohm from third to first base. Harper will return to right field.

Mattingly credited Harper’s openness to changing positions as allowing the club to think outside the box.

“I think [Harper] being willing to do that and being serious about it was the key to being able to open your mind to do different things,” the Phillies’ interim manager said.

Harper has repeatedly said he was open to moving to the outfield for a player that moves the needle. Last week, he took his outfield glove with him in case of a move.

He said Monday that he texted Dave Dombrowski again Sunday night to let the Phillies’ president of baseball operations know he was serious about the position change.

“Any chance we have an opportunity to win, I’d do anything for this organization. They know that,” Harper said. “So I texted Dave late last night and told him, ‘Hey, if anything pops up, make the move and we’ll see what happens.’ …

“They like me at first base. I think they’re comfortable with me there, so I don’t think they needed to move me off of first base at all. I’ve said it would take the right guy or the right position to do it.”

Harper said the move to right field is temporary and for “two, three months.”

“I’m at a spot in my career where, obviously, I don’t have to do that. I don’t have to go and play a different position. I’m very comfortable at first base. I love first base. I love being on the infield. So it’s something I’m doing just for the team. I don’t have to do that. I’m at the point of my career where I want to win. I want to win more than anybody. I’m trying to do that. Go out there and hopefully it helps. I think it’s helped us obviously get the guy that we need.”

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.  

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).

The MLB trade deadline is 6 p.m. Monday.