The Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a minor trade at the 2023 MLB trade deadline. The Phillies traded pitcher Bailey Falter to Pittsburgh, as first reported by The Athletic's Jayson Stark. In exchange, the Pirates agreed to send infielder Rodolfo Castro to Philadelphia.

Neither player is having a banner year in the 2023 season. Falter was optioned to Triple-A in May after a disastrous start to the season. In seven starts and eight appearances for the Phillies, Falter went 0-7 with a 5.13 ERA. Castro is hitting .228/.317/.355 in 78 games for the Pirates.

In 11 Triple-A starts, Falter has a 4.21 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 47 innings. The Phillies selected Falter in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft.

Philadelphia might be hoping that Castro can get closer to the hitter that he was a season ago. Castro showcased more power for Pittsburgh in 2022, hitting 11 home runs in 71 games with a .427 slugging percentage. Casto is a versatile defensive player. He's played 41 games at second base, 31 games at shortstop and nine games at third base in 2023.

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The Phillies were buyers at the trade deadline, though not as active as other contenders. Philadelphia's biggest move was the acquisition of pitcher Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers. Lorenzen has a 3.58 ERA in 18 starts.

The Pirates were sellers, trading veteran Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi to the San Diego Padres.

The Phillies entered the trade deadline as the second NL wild-card team. Philadelphia is only a half-game behind the San Francisco Giants, which sit atop the wild-card standings. They are also just a half-game ahead of three different teams that are in the wild-card hunt.