How well did Phillies, Brewers shore up their infields?

With the pace of deadline deals already picking up, Keith Law provides his analysis of a stack of recent transactions: the Philadelphia Phillies' acquisition of infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the New York Mets for Franklyn Kilome, a right-hander in Double-A; the Milwaukee Brewers' pair of deals to add third baseman Mike Moustakas and right-hander Joakim Soria; and the Minnesota Twins' two trades to stock up on prospects while sending infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Arizona Diamondbacks and right-hander Ryan Pressly to the Houston Astros.

Cabrera has been productive at the plate the last two years for the Mets in a bit of a late-career bounce, but, in the words of one scout, he "has the range of lawn furniture." The Phillies' plans to have him stand at different infield positions may not hold up once a few ground balls get through to the outfield. The Phillies have gotten very little production from the left side of their infield, which Cabrera would help if he doesn't give back that value on defense.

As far as what the Mets got in return, right-handler Franklyn Kilome had a brief moment as the Phillies' top low-minors pitching prospect, but he hasn't developed much in the last two seasons, while he's been lapped by other arms in their system, including JoJo Romero, Sixto Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Adonis Medina. Kilome's fastball will sit 94-96 mph when he's in a starting role and he has bumped higher velocity, but neither his breaking ball nor changeup is an average pitch, and his command and control also well below average. He does get some good tumbling action on the change, but it's inconsistent, and he leaves the breaker up way too often. He really struggles to make adjustments on the mound and can't get to his release point regularly enough to point to command.

It's a huge arm but I'd say there's a better than 90 percent probability Kilome ends up in relief, and even there he's going to have develop a clear second pitch.

The Brewers made one move with the Royals which involved significant prospects, the trade for Mike Moustakas. Moustakas can play average defense at third with power and a low OBP, and he still doesn't hit left-handed pitching at all. The Brewers' plan is to take Travis Shaw and move him to second base, from which they've gotten no production this year (a .237/.292/.353 line), but Shaw is barely average on defense at third and projects to be worse at second. So the risk here is that the slight offensive upgrade from Moustakas's power is squandered with any defensive drop at second with Shaw there.

The Royals scored here by landing two out-of-favor prospects in outfielder Brett Phillips and right-hander Jorge Lopez. Phillips was blocked eight ways to Sunday in Milwaukee, a good fourth outfielder right now who has upside but was somewhere around seventh on the Brewers' outfield depth chart. He can run, has an 80 arm, can handle center field at least on a part-time basis, and he'll show at least average power, but he needs a platoon partner against southpaws, at least for the moment. The Royals could do worse than play him every day for the next two months.

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Jorge Lopez was a top 100 prospect after a huge year in Double-A Biloxi in 2015, but the Brewers moved him to Triple-A Colorado Springs, a horrendous environment for pitchers who rely on curveballs, and he has never quite been the same since then. He's throwing hard in relief now and the curveball is still a plus pitch, although he has walked too many guys in his brief stints in the majors this year and control was never really a strength for him in the low minors.

With the Royals lacking any real starting pitching prospects above the five college arms they just drafted last month, adding Lopez and giving him a long trial as a starter again -- a role for which he seemed very well suited before his Colorado Springs disaster -- would also be a smart move for the Royals. They could benefit from giving Lopez a reprieve from the organization where everything went wrong for him.

The Brewers also swung a deal earlier in the week that brought White Sox reliever Joakim Soria to Milwaukee for two fringe prospects. Soria helps the Brewers' bullpen by adding a good late-game, full-inning relief option, and the cost was minimal in terms of the prospects sent to Chicago. Kodi Medeiros was a huge reach as the 13th overall pick in 1994, a lefty with arm strength but a low arm slot that pointed towards a bullpen role, because right-handed batters see the ball so well out of his hand. The White Sox also added Wilber Perez, a 20-year-old pitcher who is still in the Dominican Summer League -- generally not a good sign -- and has been throwing up to 94 mph with very ordinary off-speed stuff.

The Twins also made a pair of deals this week, one of which netted a very promising prospect package -- the trade of Ryan Pressly to Houston for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino. Alcala just turned 23 today (Saturday), throws with velocity that sits in the mid-90s as a starter, and shows a potential above-average slider and changeup, with command and control that have been improving but aren't starter-ready yet. He's shown enough aptitude on the mound that scouts I've talked to feel like he has a chance to start or end up as a high-leverage reliever. Celestino has a good feel to hit already at 19, with a quick bat, plus speed, and plus defense in center, with his power potential the main question given his size and lack of use of his lower half in his swing. I like both of those guys more than the three players the Twins got back from Arizona for infielder Eduardo Escobar, the best of whom is Brazilian center fielder Gabriel Maciel, a plus runner with some plate discipline but no power.