The Philadelphia Phillies made several moves at the MLB trade deadline in 2026. General manager Dave Dombrowski didn’t quite go all-out, but he definitely made some moves to try to ensure Philadelphia would make the playoffs and perhaps even give them a chance to win the National League East. They didn’t end up accomplishing the latter, but the biggest move Dombrowski made was landing second baseman Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants.
While Arraez made a great first impression and quickly endeared himself to a fanbase that is notoriously difficult to please, Johnny Flores Jr. of The Athletic recently criticized the Arraez trade. He wrote the following about the deal in an article ranking the best and worst deadline deals in 2026: “Simply put, even when healthy, Arraez’s bat didn’t quite jell in Philadelphia’s order, making his acquisition a costly miss.”
Is he right?
Well, after that dream start for the Phillies shortly after the trade, Arraez did eventually come back down to earth. In 46 games with Philly he hit .278/.309/.369 with two home runs and 21 runs batted in. That’s not completely atrocious, but compared to the .324/.360/.440 slash line he put up for the Giants it is clear that the Phillies did not get the strongest version of Arraez possible.
Still, it is hard not to wonder how that three-game Wild Card series might have turned out differently for Philadelphia had Arraez not injured his ankle at the end of the regular season. The Atlanta Braves still might have won but having a contact bat like Arraez in the lineup could have made a big difference since the Phillies struggled offensively in that series.
Will the Phillies bring Luis Arraez back in offseason?
Now the question is whether the Phillies will bring Arraez back. There is not consensus on what his value is worth as Keith Law thinks he will get $100 million in free agency while others think he will get three years in the $50-60 million range.
The Phillies might balk at that first number, but after the Milwaukee Brewers won a World Series with a contact-heavy approach, Arraez might make a lot of money from a team looking to replicate Milwaukee’s formula.
If he does sign with another team, then the Philliies may come to view it as a “costly miss” like Flores wrote. They had to give up prospects Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair. Marquez was the highlight of the deal from San Francisco’s perspective so if he develops into a solid rotation arm in a few years then Dombrowski and the Phillies will be kicking themselves for giving him up in exchange for just a couple months of Arraez.
Dave Dombrowski’s Phillies Slammed For ‘Costly Miss’ At Trade Deadline