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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Phillies have acquired three-time batting champion Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants in a move for the proven bat Philadelphia’s lineup needed in its chase for a fifth straight trip to the playoffs and first World Series championship since 2008, according to multiple reports.
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Arraez is batting a National League-best .324 with four homers and 47 RBIs with an .801 OPS. He’s a four-time All-Star and, of importance in the free-swinging Phillies lineup, is a contact hitter who rarely strikes out.
He has struck out just 236 times over his eight-year career.
Arraez has 25 walks to 21 strikeouts this season. The Phillies .304 on-base is second worst in the majors, only ahead of the New York Mets.
The Phillies also reportedly acquired right-hander reliever Caleb Kilian in the trade. They also reportedly struck a separate deal for Mets left-hander Brooks Raley.
The Giants are 47-65 and have been of baseball’s bigger disappointments.
Arraez’s arrival for a team that has reached the playoffs four straight years signals a major shift in the defensive core lineup. Second Bryson Stott or third baseman Alex Bohm could shift positions, or possibly one of them could lose their starting spots.
Bohm could be the odd-man out at third since the Phillies could more easily shift Stott to third base. The Phillies could also send first baseman Bryce Harper back to right field and move Bohm to first base.
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Bohm could also be traded before the end of Monday’s deadline.
Arraez is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, so Harper’s move to right field could be a temporary change and one that allows for the Phillies to put out their best offensive lineup.
Harper has played first base since 2023 when he returned from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
The Phillies entered Monday’s game against Washington at 59-53 and hold one of the final NL wild-card spots. They are eight games back of Atlanta in the NL East.
Arreaz led the National League in hits the past two seasons and had signed a $12 million, one-year contract this season with the Giants. He spent his first five major league seasons with the Minnesota Twins before they traded him to the Miami Marlins in January 2023. San Diego acquired him in May 2024.
Harper challenged team president Dave Dombrowski to upgrade the roster, and he came out swinging on Monday, with more moves expected ahead of the end of Monday’s trade deadline.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb