Brooks Raley is the Philadelphia Phillies' biggest trade deadline dud since president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski moved Bailey Falter to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Rodolfo Castro. The New York Mets received Luke Gabrysh in return, who projects as a back-end starter.
Hopefully the Phillies will not grow to regret that deal; their rivals certainly won’t. In fact, the Mets are already pursuing a reunion with the 38-year-old lefty at MLB’s general manager meetings in Las Vegas, according to SNY insider Chelsea Janes. It should feel like a slap in the face for the Phillies, who will feel they were sold a false bill of goods.
When he arrived in Philadelphia, Raley was the proud owner of a 1.96 ERA in 2026. And since 2022, that figure has been a minuscule 2.41. It seemed like Raley was a can’t-miss thing. What was the worst that could happen? If his ERA doubled, he’d still be a better option than most of the lefties in the Phillies’ ‘pen.
Instead, his ERA more than quadrupled to 7.94, and Raley found himself left off the playoff roster. He was a better double agent for the Mets than he was a pitcher for the Phillies. It was a hard way for Raley’s age-38 season to end. He's now tied to question marks on the free-agent market.
As one of MLB’s oldest players, executives will ask whether Raley is the same pitcher he once was, rather than poring over his consistent form during the last four seasons.
If Raley returns to the Mets, New York will likely get a nice discount based on his performance over the final two months of the season, even though he ended the year with an ERA of just 3.25.
According to Statcast, even including his end-of-year meltdown, Raley maintained a 3.98 xERA throughout the season. He was still excellent at inducing soft contact, with a 91st percentile hard-hit% and an 87.5 mph average exit velocity.
It still seems like there’s value left in Raley’s aging arm, even if the Phillies couldn't harness any of it.
The Mets are also pursuing pursuing Phillies free agent targets Alex Vesia and Tim Hill
Furthermore, the Mets have checked in on other potential Phillies targets. We’ve written extensively about how Alex Vesia would be an excellent fit for the Philadelphia bullpen, but New York is already pursuing the former Los Angeles Dodger, alongside former New York Yankee Tim Hill.
Both those players would complement the Phillies' existing bullpen core effectively, and Philadelphia hitters may soon rue the day Dombrowski passed up an opportunity to sign them.
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