PHILADELPHIA -- Joe Girardi¡¯s new bullpen should push the Phillies into the thick of the National League postseason hunt in September.

The Phils' old bullpen could have kept them home for a ninth consecutive October.

¡°I think this team is in a good position to make a playoff run,¡± general manager Matt Klentak said after Monday¡¯s 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.

The Phillies acquired right-hander David Phelps from the Brewers on Monday for three players to be named later. Phelps, 33, is 2-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 12 appearances this season. He has struck out 20 and walked two in 13 innings, amassing a 0.69 WHIP. He ranks in the 95th percentile or better in baseball for hard-hit rate, strikeout rate and exit velocity, according to Statcast.

TRADE DETAILS
Phillies get: RHP David Phelps
Brewers get: Three PTBN (RHPs Brandon Ramey, Israel Puello and Juan Geraldo, per source)

The Phils will give up 19-year-old right-handers Brandon Ramey, Israel Puello and Juan Geraldo, a source told MLB.com¡¯s Adam McCalvy. By rule, the trio cannot be named until after the season because they are not in Philadelphia's 60-man player pool. The clubs have not confirmed the players going to Milwaukee.

¡°It¡¯s always good to be wanted,¡± Phelps told Milwaukee reporters. ¡°I¡¯m going to a situation where I¡¯m playing meaningful baseball late in the season, and that¡¯s what we look for. I was introduced to big league baseball by Joe Girardi, and I¡¯m really looking forward to playing for him again. I get to reunite with J.T. Realmuto, who I had some of my best years of my career with [in Miami from 2015-17]. There¡¯s a lot to like about the team I¡¯m going to.¡±

¡°Excited about it,¡± Girardi said. ¡°I just think it gives me so many more options of what to do.¡±

Phelps is the fourth reliever the Phillies have acquired via trade in the last 10 days. They added right-handers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree in a deal with the Red Sox and righty David Hale in a trade with the Yankees on Aug. 21.

? Phils add relievers Workman, Hembree, Hale

The Phils also activated left-hander Ranger Suárez from the injured list (COVID-19) prior to Monday's series opener against the Nationals. He was 6-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 37 relief appearances last season and now makes it five new additions to Philadelphia's 10-man bullpen in the last 10 days.

The Phillies needed the help. Their bullpen had an 8.29 ERA in 22 games through Aug. 21. It has a 4.44 ERA in seven games since. Remove Hale¡¯s first appearance since Aug. 11 on Sunday night, when he allowed three earned runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Braves, and the bullpen has a 3.65 ERA since Aug. 21.

¡°They¡¯re all experienced options,¡± Girardi said. ¡°Guys that have been used to pitching in the back end during playoff runs and in playoffs. It just changes the complexion of our team.?

¡°I think [Phelps] adds another really good arm to our bullpen that has a number of weapons to use. It¡¯s another guy that we can use late. I think when you look at our bullpen, we have options all over the place for the later innings. Sometimes, a guy might come in in the sixth that we could use in the eighth the next day.¡±

Workman has been the Phillies¡¯ closer since Saturday. Neris closed previously. Others could close, too, based on availability and performance.

¡°He¡¯s another guy that we can utilize at the back of the game,¡± Klentak said of Phelps. ¡°On any given night, you could have Phelps or Hembree or Tommy [Hunter] setting up for Workman or Neris, or really any combination of that. Whether you¡¯re up by a run or down by a run -- seventh, eighth, ninth -- we feel like we have guys that can pitch high-leverage innings for us.¡±

Phelps signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with Milwaukee this past winter, which includes a $4.5 million club option with a $250,000 buyout for 2021. Phelps pitched for Girardi with the Yankees from '12-14.

¡°He¡¯s a fantastic competitor,¡± Girardi said. ¡°I mean, this guy competes. And he expects to be perfect every day. He's going to grind it out every day. The other thing is, he's a guy in the past who has done multiple innings. So if you possibly needed that one day, I think you could do that as well.¡±

Talking or not talking with J.T.?
A report on Monday said that the Phillies have not talked to J.T. Realmuto¡¯s agents since Spring Training was suspended on March 12. MLB.com reported in July that the sides had spoken since then. Klentak confirmed on Monday that he had spoken to Realmuto¡¯s agents since Spring Training -- in fact, he said, they have talked since the beginning of Summer Camp in July, although he declined to say if a formal offer has been made or if negotiations continue.

¡°I¡¯m not going to talk publicly about our discussions with J.T.,¡± Klentak said. ¡°Because J.T. has asked for that, and in order to allow him to focus on the season and respect him, we¡¯re going to keep this out of the public.¡±

The feeling remains that Realmuto will test the free-agent market this offseason. He might be the best position player available.

Bruce activated, Kingery to IL
Along with Su¨¢rez, the Phillies activated outfielder Jay Bruce from the injured list on Monday after he had been sidelined with a strained left quadriceps. The Phils also placed infielder Scott Kingery on the 10-day IL with back spasms. Right-hander Reggie McClain and catcher Deivy Grull¨®n were designated for assignment.