A Numbers Game | August 3, 2026 | Hour 1

**Greg Peterson** (0:01)
This is VSiN, the SportsBetting Network.

**Dustin Swedelson** (0:09)
The numbers told the story, they always do.

**Kelley Bydlon** (0:11)
Swando's idiots who believe in analytics.

**Dustin Swedelson** (0:13)
This is A Numbers Game with Gil Alexander on VSiN.
August the 3rd, be with you on a Monday morning. Welcome to your work week and welcome into A Numbers Game. I'm Dustin Swedelson, in for Gil Alexander, as always, with Kelley Bydlon. We got you covered for the next 3 hours here on VSiN, the SportsBetting Network. It is Major League Baseball's trade deadline and it has been very active. And the thing that jumps out to me, Kelley, as we're sitting here, news is flying in left and right with moves being made, teams planning for not just this year, but next year as well.
If you like action, you're listening to our voice. If you like action, that's what today is for. The baseball trade deadline is one of the rare spots on the calendar where Major League Baseball actually delivers excitement for the fans.

**Kelley Bydlon** (1:02)
It really does. It really does. It brings everybody into it. We were talking about this kind of end of last week. I think it's a perfect timing, right? You get a lot of other sports that get out of the way for baseball. And this was where a lot of people were kind of landing on baseball for maybe the first time this season and get to ride it out the rest of the way. And you get to figure out what teams are actually gonna look like.

**Dustin Swedelson** (1:20)
Big move was made on Saturday. Tarek Scoob will go into the Dodgers. We'll touch on that in just a moment, but since we've been sitting here for the last hour or so, a couple of moves have gone down, most notably the Philadelphia Phillies, remaining aggressive. And if you remember my appearances on the program a few weeks ago, I did go all in on the Philadelphia Phillies. Since then, they've been one of the worst teams in baseball, like legitimately since the All-Star break. They've been terrible. However, perhaps they've fixed whatever ails them right now. A couple of moves in the last 15 minutes. Number one, acquiring Luisa Rise, the second baseman from San Francisco, former batting average champion in Major League Baseball. But more importantly, when you think about the playoffs, where hits are at a premium, where contact really matters, you can't just rely on the long ball. You have to manufacture some runs. That is a really shrewd addition for the Philadelphia Phillies in their lineup. With so many guys that swing and miss, who go for it all with the home runs, I like the addition of a rise to come in, play a little second base, also play a little DH, potentially first base if Bryce Harper needs a blow here and there. I like this move a lot. The move that I love, though, is the addition in the bullpen. They add left-handed reliever Brooks Rayleigh, who's been really good when healthy for the New York Mets the last few years, just hasn't been healthy all that often. And this is key. One of the big off-season moves for Philadelphia was grabbing Brad Keller to become their setup guy. Keller was having a really, really good season. Then he got injured a few weeks ago.
Since he's done for the year, that was a huge void, especially for the postseason. You can't have enough legitimate veteran bullpen arms. I think this shores things up for Philadelphia. I also don't know if they're done. I don't know if they're done moving here. Arenola goes tonight for the Phillies. I don't know how you trust him, needing him to start as the fourth starter in a playoff series. There are so many other pitchers available. Casey Mize from Detroit, Reed Detmers from the Angels, Robbie Ray sitting there in San Francisco, Foster Griffin in Division, Dustin May. You can still find another arm to add to this rotation. Philadelphia is being aggressive. We anticipated Dave Dombroski doing that. That is his MO as a front office executive in Major League Baseball. And the Philadelphia Phillies 19-1 to win the World Series.
I already have a little bit at 14-1. I will not be going back for more, but I do think you could do worse when you think about how a team sets up for a playoff series with Sanchez, with Wheeler and Lazardo in that rotation.
It's a really strong season for Philadelphia, who's now 10-1 to win the National League. That to me is the value, is the 10-1.

**Kelley Bydlon** (4:01)
Yeah, that's what I was just pulling up, 10-1 to win the NL. I might join you on that, buddy. I got a big bet on them to make the playoffs. That's looking good. However, I guess, wild card race, right? They are in right now. The Padres only one game back of them. Marlins one and a half back. I think great points.