Dave Dombrowski’s work is a slightly above breaking-even grade.

That is, as far as his moves this season. He would likely receive a B+ or even an A- ... maybe.

How does he get his grade? Read on.

With the recent baseball trading deadline, the Phillies president of baseball operations was certainly under the gun to produce a left-handed reliever, a right-handed bat, and another starting pitcher.

With some right-handed bats, like Kansas City’s Lane Thomas who went to rival Atlanta, and pitchers Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, both on their radar who wound up in Wrigley Field, Phillies fans began to panic whether Dombrowski would make a deal.

Well, the sly veteran pulled off one of the deadline’s most high-profile deals when he acquired three-time batting champion Luis Arraez and reliever Caleb Kilian for the team’s No. 4 prospect pitcher Ramon Marquez and fellow pitcher Marty Gair.

Marquez, who was at Single-A Clearwater, had a 3-0 record with a 1.86 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 29 innings. The Phillies had hoped to keep him locked down with his potential high ceiling, but getting Arraez required a blue chip.

Dombrowski also reeled in Mets reliever Brooks Raley, who was coveted by several teams for his ability to handcuff left-handed hitters. Raley has held lefties to a .195 average and has struck out 41 percent of the ones he had faced.

What about the right-handed bat and the starting pitcher?

Dombrowski may have pulled off both without us initially catching on.

It was about getting a bat to have Bryce Harper protected in the lineup, as the Phillies have been searching for one since Rhys Hoskins.

To mostly everyone’s surprise, Arraez was the cleanup hitter Tuesday night in his first game as a Phillie. Arraez, who came to Philly hitting .324, has made his living mainly as a leadoff hitter.

However, this was a time when analytics deserved a pat on the back.

Since 2025, Arraez has a .345 average with runners in scoring position, the highest among any active player who qualified for a batting title. He entered Wednesday’s game leading all of baseball with a .400 average this season in the same category.

Arraez’s opening act was as well received as when Harper, Trea Turner and Pete Rose all made their first appearances before the Phillies faithful. He responded with a pair of hits and RBIs in his debut, and followed that with a solo homer Wednesday.

With Arraez’s arrival, the word “energy” was the buzz word around the ballpark, notably by the media.

Kilian pitched a solid inning in his first showing Tuesday, and can serve as a potential closer, having compiled eight saves this season. Though he got torched for five runs Wednesday night, Kilian may still be the true steal from Dombrowski’s deadline dabblings.

Raley was rocked by Washington in his debut Wednesday, but should bounce back to be a steady force.

Dombrowski didn’t get a veteran arm as an insurance policy (see former Phil and current Padre Walker Buehler), but he and the Phils brass are counting on Andrew Painter to act as the mid-season pick up.

Painter had a strong outing in his return after his stint with the IronPigs. He appeared to be on his way to another one against the Nationals Wednesday, but was forced to leave the game with hamstring stiffness.

Earlier, Dombrowski added ex-White Sox Derek Hill, who initially figured as an extra bat off the bench, as well as journeyman Bryan De La Cruz, who got the bump from Lehigh Valley. Together, they have combined to produce the needed right-handed bat.

Dombrowski is banking that the back of their baseball card doesn’t catch up to them, as they are both .232 career hitters. De La Cruz’s mark jumped to .253 because of his .429 start with the Phillies.

Before either of them emerged, the Phils rolled out the likes of Otto Kemp, Felix Reyes, Stewart Berroa and Gabriel Rincones Jr. as the answer, but all four hit under .200.

Most baseball publications have awarded Dombrowski high marks for the Arraez/Kilian/Raley acquisitions.

But it’s best to hold off and wait to see how this plays out further.

Early Grade Troubles ... When one looks at Dombrowski’s body of work, they have to look at the entire season.

Dombrowski thought he had the right-handed bat issue resolved and saved some money when he signed former Texas slugger Adolis Garcia to a bargain-basement, one-year, $10 million deal.

The thought was that Garcia, the 2023 ALCS MVP, could resurrect his career with a change of scenery. After all, in 2023 he clubbed 39 regular-season homers and an additional six in the postseason. Plus, Garcia had a combined 44 homers the past two seasons, including 19 last year.

The move failed miserably, as Garcia’s season ended in late June with right latissimus dorsi repair surgery. He was hitting just .195 with seven homers, 21 RBIs and 86 strikeouts in 213 at-bats, with an OPS of .599 and an OBP of .270.

Then there was reliever Brad Keller, who Dombrowski signed from the Cubs to serve as the Phillies’ eighth-inning bridge to Jhoan Duran.

But Keller, who had a 2.07 ERA and a .096 WHIP in 68 games in the Windy City last year, never got on track. He struggled with a 4.02 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 32 games before he was shut down with a UCL tear.

How about Justin Crawford? He was regarded as the shiny centerpiece of the farm system and a Rookie-of-the-Year candidate.

Crawford hit .322 in four minor league seasons, and .334 at Lehigh Valley last year. He has had to make adjustments in center field, away from his usual left-field position.

He had raised his average to .264 before Wednesday’s game after being below .250 most of the season. Crawford is running more and had 15 steals through Wednesday.

Envisioned as an everyday player, Crawford has struggled against left-handed pitching (.176), a position that prompted manager Don Mattingly to platoon him with Hill. Crawford hit .376 against lefties last season with the IronPigs.

Yet, Dombrowski could get a pass on Crawford, who still has two months to improve his stature.

Shuffling The Deck ... Along with the moves, Dombrowski presented Mattingly with the task of reshuffling his lineup both on and off the field with just over 50 games left to play, and his team in the thick of a Wild Card race.

Harper to right? That could work, even though it has been four years since he last played there. Stott to third? He hasn’t really played there regularly since high school, but he is a good glove. Bohm to first? He’s worked there before.

Nevertheless, this isn’t the ideal time to shift players around.

Mattingly sees it working, and plans to use Hill as a defensive replacement for Harper, and likely Edmundo Sosa in the infield.

The new lineup with Schwarber leading off should work, but as my colleague Rod Heckman pointed out Tuesday night, Schwarber came up with runners on first and second and didn’t produce. Through Wednesday, Schwarber led the majors in strikeouts with 168, but was second in walks with 72, thus leading to his .884 OPS.

Mixed Reviews ... In the early tabulation of a Times News Lehighton Sports Facebook poll, readers were asked how they rated Dombrowski’s deadline deals, whether it was favorable, unfavorable, or somewhere in the middle.

Being prudent fans, they didn’t take the early bait of Arraez’s astoundings.

The predominant choice was 56 percent somewhere in the middle, 28 percent were in favor of them, and 16 percent were opposed.

Readers Write

Wearing Those Phillie-Colored Glasses

Dear Jeff,

I do like Arraez as a consistent bat in the line up with limited strikeouts, but I do not like moving three other players out of position to accommodate him. A reliable starter would have been a nice pick up too, but it did not happen. Hopefully the guys they got for the bullpen will be a help.

Melissa Hager

Lehighton

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will recall a former standout from the area.

Brock Bollinger was a two-year starter at Palmerton before he went on to a stellar four-year career as a catcher at Misericordia University, where he played a key role in helping them to a NCAA Division 3 title as a junior in 2024.

Bollinger won the starting job as a freshman, and hit .362 overall in 199 games with 16 homers and 177 RBIs. He was a two-time All MAC East First-team choice, as well as D3.com All-Region First-team choice, and an ABCA Fourth-team All-American.

In three varsity seasons at Palmerton, the 2021 Blue Bomber graduate hit .369 with 41 RBIs in 45 games.

Bollinger is still active today, playing for the Northern Yankees and batting .427 at the time of this writing.

Report Card ... Like any good teacher, you look at the whole. Dombrowski’s grade will depend on where the Phillies are in October ... if there is a postseason.

Your thoughts are always welcomed and will be published; email them to tnsports@tnonline.com.

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