Dodgers trade for Tarik Skubal, fans and owners express outrage
The Dodgers are acquiring Tarik Skubal in a move that leaves some in the baseball world calling for a salary cap.
In their desperation to revamp both their sagging offense and a pitching staff gasping for air, the Philadelphia Phillies fired their biggest trade deadline shot early on Monday, Aug. 3, acquiring three-time batting champion Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants.
The cost was significant: Right-hander Ramon Marquez was the Phillies’ No. 4 consensus prospect and likely the highest one they’d move, given the perceived unavailability of first-year pro right-hander Gage Wood and injured shortstop Aidan Miller.
Yet the Phillies need an adrenaline boost after losing 10 of their first 13 games out of the All-Star break. How did they and the Giants do in this deal? Let’s explore:
Luis Arraez trade details
Phillies receive: INF Luis Arraez, RHP Caleb Kilian
Giants receive: RHP Ramon Marquez, RHP Marty Gair
Phillies trade grade: A-
What a pivot.
Presumed to be hunting for a right-handed hitting outfielder, the Phillies got fed up with that narrow and grim market and instead snagged Arraez, who is having an All-Star season and has revived himself as a Gold Glove-caliber second baseman.
Arraez, batting .324 with an .801 OPS this season, greatly diversifies a Phillies offense too often reliant on the home run and prone to dead spots when sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are misfiring.
Paired with an offensively resurgent Trea Turner near the top of the order, Arraez provides an ideal lefty-hitting complement to Turner. He can also fold in near the middle of the lineup – Arraez often batted cleanup for the Giants – and add protection for Schwarber and Harper while assuming a run-producing position in the order.
Offensively, it’s an ideal fit. Defensively, less so.
There’s a reason the Phillies wanted a right fielder, as they’ve trotted out Gabriel Rincones Jr., Derek Hill, Bryan De La Cruz and others in an effort to replace Adolis Garcia, who’s out for the season.
Now, the Phillies have a bit of a logjam in the infield and at DH.
Would Bryce Harper be serious about grabbing his outfielder’s glove and going to right field, allowing Arraez to play first? Does this signal fewer at-bats against right-handers for third baseman Alec Bohm, with Bryson Stott sliding to the hot corner while Arraez mans second?
That seems the likeliest scenario, with Bohm batting .226 with a 73 adjusted OPS.
Kilian gives the Phillies bullpen another arm, certainly, and perhaps he’ll find greater consistency away from the toxic fire that is the Giants relief corps. He’s saved eight games but has a 1.33 WHIP. At the least, he takes pressure off their seventh- and eighth-inning arms such as Jonathan Bowlan and Orion Kerkering.
Giants trade grade: B+
Buster Posey needs a few wins on the board to prop up his disastrous tenure as president of baseball operations as the Giants pivot toward selling rather than contending. Adding Marquez is a nice start.
Marquez, along with first-round picks Jackson Flora and prep left-hander Jackson Bolemon, greatly bolsters the club’s pitching inventory in just one month. Marquez, 20, is in his second full pro season and has reached high Class A Jersey Shore, striking out 93 in 59 innings across two levels. He features a 96 mph fastball and decent changeup, which he deploys to produce a 165-36 strikeout-walk ratio as a pro. (He’s also hit 13 batters).
Gair, 23, was a 13the-round pick out of Florida Southwestern State College in 2023. He missed the 2023 and 2024 seasons but has come back to strike out 66 in 36 innings out of the bullpen at two Class A levels.