Phillies trade deadline updates: Philly lands three-time batting champ, bullpen help; Bryce Harper moving to RF; latest news and rumors

Jim Bowden, the former GM of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals who is currently a senior writer for The Athletic, gave the Phillies an "A" for the Luis Arraez deal.

His colleague, Andy McCullough, also gave the Phillies an "A" for the trade, which he wrote provides "diversity for their lineup."

"His contact-based approach will aid a lineup built around sluggers hitting .250," McCullough wrote. "The Phillies will also have to hope that his recent defensive improvement can continue without the daily tutelage of infield guru Ron Washington."

Do the Phillies have something bigger in play?

You have to wonder because, right now, the decision to trade fast-rising pitching prospect Ramon Marquez for Giants infielder Luis Arraez creates far more questions than answers.

With Arraez reportedly insisting on remaining at second base, where he has graded out as a subpar defender for most of his career, the Phillies don’t have many palatable options to accommodate him within their current personnel structure.

The Phillies are well-acquainted with Luis Arraez’s exceptional bat control.

It’s what’s helped the second baseman build a career .363 on-base percentage. And when he was on the other side — on the Padres in 2024 and 2025 and on the Giants this season — it made him a challenge for the Phillies to defend against.

“We started just moving around in the infield, because he’d look around and just find a hole and hit it there,” Alec Bohm said after the Phillies played San Francisco in April. “He’s just that talented.”

A half-hour after the Phillies lost Friday night in Baltimore, Dave Dombrowski intercepted Bryce Harper in a hallway outside the clubhouse, draped an arm around him, and started talking.

It may have been the genesis of a creative deadline trade.

The move Monday for three-time batting champion Luis Arraez left people, even some within the Phillies organization, guessing about how the infield pieces will fit. The Phillies were trying to add a righty-hitting outfielder, a creature that was more scarce in this marketplace than a Mickey Mantle rookie card. And so, they widened their search over the weekend, according to major league sources, and landed on Arraez, a lefty-hitting contact machine who has made clear that he wants to stay at second base.

In a move to reinforce the bullpen, the Phillies turned to ... the Mets?

On the heels of a larger trade for second baseman Luis Arraez and reliever Caleb Kilian from the Giants, the Phillies acquired lefty reliever Brooks Raley from the Mets for minor league right-hander Luke Gabrysh and outfielder John Spikerman, a major-league source confirmed. The teams haven't announced the deal because the players were being informed.

Raley, 38, has a 1.96 ERA in 41 1/3 innings for the Mets. A pending free agent, he figures to slot into the bullpen alongside fellow lefties Jose Alvarado and Tim Mayza and righties Orion Kerkering and Jonathan Bowlan as the primary pieces in the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran.

Mets right-hander Clay Holmes made three minor league starts in his recovery from a right leg fracture.

The Phillies scouted all of them.

Holmes, who threw 73 pitches Sunday for high-A Brooklyn, was the Mets' best starter until he got hit by a comebacker on May 15. The 33-year-old is uniquely suited to help the Phillies address their pitching needs on multiple levels.

Last year, on the eve of the deadline, the Phillies completed a massive trade for star closer Jhoan Duran during a rain delay.

They had two downpours Sunday to make another splash.

No such luck.

Outfielders who are productive from the right side of the plate and potentially available in this trade market are almost as rare as a Mickey Mantle rookie card.

The Phillies just got an up-close look at one of them.

The Orioles’ Taylor Ward would be a fit for the Phillies, who were last in the majors with a .279 on-base mark and .639 OPS from their right-handed hitters.

Dave Dombrowski convened more than a dozen executives, analysts, and scouts in Baltimore for the weekend. They continue to pursue a right-handed bat, a late-inning reliever, and a starting pitcher, according to multiple league sources.

In addition to Orioles slugger Taylor Ward, the Phillies are exploring other righty-hitting outfield options.

Among them are Angels’ Jo Adell, the Dodgers’ Alex Call, and the Giants’ Heliot Ramos.

The trade deadline is just hours away — 6 p.m. Monday — and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is trying to fill multiple needs.

Chief among them: late-inning relief, which was amplified by Friday night’s seventh-inning meltdown.

The Phillies have been linked to old friend Jeff Hoffman, who has a 4.02 ERA for the Blue Jays but also has given up two earned runs in 19⅔ innings since June 9.

Nobody wants to admit it, but the Dodgers deserve Tarik Skubal.

Los Angeles landed him the old fashioned way. They drafted, developed, traded, and signed their way to a circumstance where they could trade a highly valued outfield prospect for three months of service that will only pad their odds of completing a three-peat that they were favored to accomplish anyway.

That’s what you should focus on. The dignity of the deal. Not the Dodgers’ myriad of other competitive advantages. The endless payroll. The creative accounting. The market size, location, and glitz. None of them matter as much as the fundamentals. The Dodgers are simply better at identifying and nurturing talent than any other organization. To focus on anything else is to give your own organization a pass.

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

Historically, the trade deadline always fell on July 31, but commissioner Rob Manfred is able to set the deadline any day between July 28 and Aug. 3, so it avoids falling on a weekend and doesn't conflict with any games.

After the trade deadline expires, players on 40-man rosters can no longer be traded from club to club. Players can still be placed and claimed on outright waivers.