The Phillies desperately needed bullpen help as the trade deadline approached. Their big move in that regard was to trade for Mets’ lefthanded setup man Brooks Raley. It seemed like a sensible move since Raley had been largely excellent over the past few seasons.
But given the Phillies’ questionable history of deadline reliever trades, I wasn’t completely convinced it was a good move. And the thought of trading for any player from the 2026 Mets seemed like an invitation for disaster. (Somewhere, Turk Wendell nods in approval.)
Sadly, I was correct. He blew a save in his first appearance with the Phillies, and although he settled down a bit after that, it was a precursor of what was to come.
The stats (with the Phillies): 16 games, 11.1 IP, 0-2 W-L, 7.94 ERA, 11 K, 5 BB, -0.3 WAR
What went right?
It’s hard to remember this now, but after a poor first appearance, Raley was decent in August with a 3.12 ERA in eleven games.
What went wrong?
Raley was a disaster in September. He appeared in six games, and the Phillies lost all six, which is not good for a guy who is supposed to be one of your main setup men. For the month, in 3.2 innings, he gave up ten hits – including two home runs – walked four batters and struck out just three.
The Phillies stopped using him in leverage situations and even left him off the roster for the playoffs.
Lesson learned: NEVER trade for a Mets reliever.
The future
He’s a 38 year old free agent. His pre-trade work was probably strong enough to merit another contract, but hopefully it won’t be with the Phillies.
Grade: F
The Phillies have made some bad deadline deals over the years, and this one ranks right up there with the worst of them.
