The Philadelphia Phillies bolster their World Series pursuit by landing batting title contender Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants.
The San Francisco Giants knew one of their biggest, if not their biggest priority of the deadline, was moving on from Luis Arraez.
The Philadelphia Phillies kept calling, and finally the Giants put a deal together.
ESPN's Jeff Passan first broke the news the morning of Monday, Aug. 3. The trade deadline is officially on, and this was a major blockbuster to get the day started.
Arraez came to San Francisco on a one-year deal, and while the team would've loved to keep him around as he goes for a fourth batting title, there simply was no reason to justify that with their less-than-stellar record.
Now, Arraez heads to the Phillies, a team that knew they needed to acquire a few pieces if they wanted to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Kaleb Kilian is included in the package
According to USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale, this is a deal that will also include right-handed reliever Kaleb Kilian. In return, the Giants will get a starting pitcher in Ramon Marquez and reliever Marty Gair.
Marquez is officially the No. 4 prospect in the Phillies' organization. Nightengale noted it was a bit odd for the Phillies to go out and get Arraez, especially since they were looking for a right-handed outfielder, but no one can fault them for bringing in the four-time All-Star.
Instead of getting a right-handed outfielder, they got the complete opposite with Arraez, a left-handed infielder. Either way, this was a huge move for them to begin competing once again in the National League and try to make another run at the World Series.
On the Phillies side of things, they were able to protect right-handed pitcher Gage Wood, shortstop Aidan Miller, and outfielder Francisco Renteria. That trio is their top three prospects, but they had to send away Marquez, a guy who doesn't have an ETA until 2029.
Giants got what they could out of Arraez
It felt like it was now or never for the Giants as they had to squeeze every inch out of Arraez's value. They did the same with Tyler Mahle yesterday, but now it was Arraez's turn. The Phillies were one of many teams interested; it was just a matter of who had a better offer.
The Giants always had a high asking price on Arraez, but rightfully so. He's hitting .324 this season and will stay in the NL as his pursuit of a fourth straight batting title is on.
