Today marks the one-month mark since the 2026 MLB trade deadline. The Phillies were very active at the deadline, as they acquired Luis Arraez, Caleb Kilian, and Brooks Raley. So far, the results have been a mixed bag. Arraez is obviously the biggest name, and although he’s been rather pedestrian, hitting .280 with a .678 OPS through his first month in a Phillies uniform, the lineup itself has excelled since his arrival. The Phillies offense ranked first in on-base percentage for the month of August,
a dramatic difference from their dead last ranking from April through the end of July. How much of that which can be directly or indirectly attributed to Arraez is up for interpretation, but the numbers show the team has improved since he was inserted into the lineup.
The two new pitchers the Phillies acquired are a different story. Raley has been fine, but he’s regressed heavily from his previous numbers with the Mets this season. Kilian appeared in just four games before suffering an oblique strain and being placed on the injured list on August 10th. It’s quite possible he does not pitch again this season. For the rotation, the Phillies opted not to acquire another starter, choosing to give Andrew Painter another run at the fifth spot. That decision was maligned at the time, but it looks to have been a shrewd one, as Painter looks like a completely different pitcher since returning from his mid-season demotion to Triple-A.
But we’re not here to talk about who the Phillies DID trade for. So, let’s look at how some of the names connected to the Phillies whether by insider rumor or fan speculation have fared over the last month.
Taylor Ward
Ward has been a constant in the rumor mill surrounding the Phillies for the last few seasons. He was finally moved from the Angels in the offseason, heading to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Grayson Rodriguez. While with the Orioles, Ward’s previous power numbers from his past two years cratered, but his OBP jumped to what would have been a career-best .383. The 32-year-old found himself on the move again at this past deadline, this time heading to the Mariners in exchange for reliever Alex Hoppe and minor leaguers Brock Moore and Harrison Kreiling. The package Baltimore netted for Ward appeared very light on the surface, leading to much consternation among the Phillies fanbase and others over why he went for so little.
Well, it looks as though the Orioles are actually the favorites to come out ahead of that deal, as Ward has been abysmal for Seattle. He’s hitting just .121 through 19 games with 21 strikeouts. Ironically, the Mariners have trended downward since the deal and are fading from the AL postseason picture while the Orioles are trending up and remain firmly in the mix for the third Wild Card in the mediocre AL.
Luis Robert Jr.
Robert is yet another name that has been oft linked to the Phillies over the past few seasons. The White Sox finally moved on from their former center fielder over the winter when they sent Robert to New York as part of Daniel Stearns’ offseason makeover of the Mets. But Robert was a total bust for the Mets, as he appeared in 27 games before suffering a lumbar disc injury on April 30th that kept him out of action until July 20th. His name floated around rumors at the deadline as part of the Mets’ sell-off, but New York did not or could not move him before the deadline passed.
Flash forward to August 29th, and Robert was waived by the Mets in an attempt to move off of the remaining $5M of his deal, assuming he would require the $3M buyout and his $10M option would be declined. The Orioles claimed Robert on August 31st, officially ending his tenure with the Mets after 58 games with a .223/.303/.399 batting line and 0.8 WAR.
Jo Adell
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Adell is another right-handed hitting outfielder that has seen his name connected with the Phillies at the last two trade deadlines. The 27-year-old saw a drastic drop in production from his career year in 2025, as he had a .682 OPS with Anaheim this year after posting a career-best .778 last season. Like his former teammate Ward, the Angels finally found a deal they liked for Adell, sending him to the Guardians at the deadline in exchange for catching prospect Jacob Cozart.
Unlike the previous two names so far on this list, Adell has been a boon for his team post-deadline. He’s hit .258 with an .815 OPS in 24 games with Cleveland and has seen his walk rate jump from a miniscule 3.5% to a more respectable 9.8%. Adell has been a huge addition for the Guardians as they try to chase down the White Sox in the AL Central.
Kevin Gausman
Gausman was a somewhat surprising addition to the deadline trade market, as the Blue Jays were coming off of a shocking World Series run that saw them come within literal inches of winning a championship in Game 7. But the magic quickly wore off in 2026, as Toronto found themselves 53-60 on August 3rd and 4.5 games out of a postseason spot. So, the Blue Jays opted to dismantle some of that AL pennant winning club, with Gausman’s name emerging as a possible option for clubs seeking rotation help, such as the Phillies.
The 35-year-old Gausman was in the midst of a down year himself when he was sent to the Cubs in exchange for outfielder Brett Bateman and infielder Ty Southisene. Gausman is in the final year of a five year, $110M deal and had a no trade clause that blocked a move to all but eight teams. One of those teams where he could have been traded without his consent was the Phillies, but they opted to let him go to Chicago. The Cubs were hoping that Gausman could shake off the 4.38 ERA he had in 23 starts with the Blue Jays and recapture his form as a front of the rotation playoff caliber starter. That has yet to happen so far, as Gausman has a 5.14 ERA in five starts since the trade and has already allowed five home runs.
Clay Holmes
Holmes matches two ongoing themes of the trade deadline in that he was a starting pitcher that went to the Cubs as well as being a part of the Mets’ selloff. The converted reliever excelled in his first season as a full-time starter with the Mets in 2025, finishing with a 3.53 ERA across 165.2 IP in 33 games (31 starts). Holmes looked to have been off to an even better start to 2026, posting a 2.39 ERA across his first nine starts, but a tibia fracture suffered on May 15th shut him down until the middle of July when he began rehabbing in the minor leagues.
At the time of the deadline, Holmes was one of the more intriguing non-Tarik Skubal options on the market. His three year, $38M signed prior to last season includes a player option after this season, meaning that Holmes can once again test free agency following 2026. Considering his performance over the last year plus when healthy, Holmes is likely to exercise that option. That along with the uncertainty of his injury status at the time of the deadline (he had only appeared in rehab games to that point) made sure there was non-insignificant risk in acquiring him. The Phillies clearly chose not to take that risk while the Cubs did, and Chicago has reaped the benefits of it. Holmes has picked up right where he left off prior to injury, as he has a 1.55 ERA in five starts since the trade. His chances of opting out have likely increased even more, but the Cubs will be happy to employ him in the meantime.
Robbie Ray
Ray was yet another solid rotation option available in a trade at a time when the Phillies rotation was very much in flux. The 34-year-old was in the midst of a second straight renaissance season pitching in pitcher friendly Oracle Park in San Francisco, as he was pitching to a 3.08 in 22 games (21 starts) with the moribund Giants. The trifecta of Ray pitching well, his status as a rental still being owed a little more than $4M, and the Giants being long out of the race, made him ripe for a change of address at the deadline.
The Padres ended up being the ones to acquire Ray’s services, sending two prospects in Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez to San Francisco with the Giants also agreeing to pay part of Ray’s salary. The lefty has been a good pickup for San Diego, as he’s made five starts and sports a 3.42 ERA as the Padres look to chase down the Phillies and others for an NL Wild Card spot.
