Philadelphia Phillies' Trade Deadline Move Has Been a Disaster

Back at the MLB trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies were in dire need of bullpen help, so they went out and acquired a couple of relievers.

First, they nabbed the right-handed Caleb Kilian in a deal with the San Francisco Giants, a package that also netted the Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez. Philadelphia then turned out and bagged lefty Brooks Raley in a trade with the New York Mets.

Raley was definitely seen as the bigger get at the time, and considering that Kilian went on the injured list not long after being acquired due to an oblique strain, it was basically Raley or nothing anyway.

Needless to say, the Raley era has not gone well in Philly.

After getting shelled for three runs in just two-thirds of an inning against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, Raley now owns a 6.97 ERA over 14 appearances since joining the Phillies.

He has allowed 13 hits — four of which have been home runs — over 10.1 innings of work, and his WHIP is 1.548.

That comes after Raley logged a 1.96 ERA in 45 outings with the Mets prior to the deadline. It's also worth noting he had been a terrific reliever ever since 2022.

It's not like Philadelphia gave up a whole lot in return to land Raley, but it's the fact that the southpaw was supposed to help solidify the Phillies' shaky bullpen that makes this deal such a failure for the club.

You obviously can't blame Dave Dombrowski for making the move. Raley was one of the top relief arms available at the time, and Dombrowski went and got him.

It just hasn't turned out very well.

Philadelphia has now lost seven of its last 10 games heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, and a spotty bullpen has been a big reason why.

The Phillies are still in control of their own destiny and currently own a playoff spot, but at this point, they are holding on for dear life.

Plenty of familiar problems have resurfaced for Philadelphia in recent weeks, such as the bats largely going cold again. But the Phillies' bullpen issue has once again reared its ugly head, and Raley, who was supposed to stop the bleeding, is right at the center of it.