The Phillies didn’t waste any time on deadline day.
After landing Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia kept moving and pulled off another deal, this time adding Mets left-hander Brooks Raley, according to MLB insider Bob Nightengale.
“The Philadelphia Phillies also are close to finalizing a deal to acquire Mets LHP Brooks Raley,” Nightengale wrote.
To get Raley, the Phillies sent right-hander Luke Gabrysh and outfielder John Spikerman to the Mets.
Raley’s numbers this season help explain why Philadelphia wanted him in the fold. He posted a 1.96 ERA for New York, along with a 1.08 WHIP, 40 strikeouts and two home runs allowed across 41.1 innings. His road back to the mound has also included Tommy John surgery in 2024, with the Mets re-signing him the following year.
What Philadelphia plans to do with Raley from here remains to be seen, but the expectation is that he’ll have a meaningful role down the stretch. And based on the pace of the morning, this may not be the last move coming out of Philly. Nightengale also reported that the Phillies were in the market for a veteran starting pitcher next, with several names potentially available as the deadline unfolds.
Even with the Raley addition, Arraez still stands as the biggest splash of the day so far for the Phillies. There had been buzz that Philadelphia was in on him, and he reportedly preferred to stay at second base, where his infield play has shown improvement.
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Derek Hill Suddenly Leaves Phillies With A Much Bigger Concern
Derek Hill had given the Phillies a useful spark before the game turned suddenly in the outfield. During Philadelphias loss to Washington, the center fielder was in the middle of a productive offensive night when he went racing for a catch, only to slam head-first into the wall and stop the action while trainers rushed out to check on him.
Hill eventually made his way off the field with help, but the bigger concern was what his exit meant for a Phillies team that was still tied with the Nationals at the time. Washington pulled away after the injury, turning a 4-4 game into a 10-4 finish, and leaving Philadelphia to wonder both about the result and about Hills availability moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Fans May Want Gage Wood Sooner Than They Should
The Phillies spent deadline season reshaping the roster with Luis Arraez and two relievers, but they left the starting-pitching picture untouched, which is why a name like Gage Wood is starting to come up more often around the fan base. The right-hander has been excellent in Double-A and is being built up as a starter, giving Philadelphia at least one intriguing arm on a farm system that does not have a lot of obvious high-end upside beyond him.
That kind of profile can make impatience easy to understand, especially when the major-league club is always one injury or short outing away from needing help. Still, the Phillies have reason to be careful with Woods path, because his value is tied to becoming a real starting option rather than being rushed into the conversation before he is ready. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Left Themselves Two Dangerous Holes In The Playoff Race
The trade deadline came and went with the usual flurry of activity, and several contenders made the kind of moves that can reshape a pennant race. But for clubs like the Phillies, the quieter ending was its own story. They were among the teams that went in looking to fortify weak spots and came away without the specific upgrade they had hoped to make, leaving the roster to answer the same questions it carried into July.
For a Philadelphia team trying to keep pace in a crowded postseason picture, that matters. The deadline was supposed to be a chance to protect against the grind of the stretch run, yet the gap they were trying to fill remains open as the schedule tightens. In a year when rivals were willing to act aggressively, the Phillies now have to navigate the rest of the season with the burden of a need still hanging over them. [Read more 🡒]