by The Phillies fill the outfield void with Kepler, but still have a lot of work to do. The original appearance appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies have addressed their most pressing offseason need, but still have a lot of work to do in the outfield.
According to ESPN, they agreed to a one-year deal worth $10 million with left-hander Max Kepler on Thursday night. The deal, first reported by MLB.com, is still pending.
Kepler, who turns 32 in February, has been a fixture in Minnesota over the past decade and debuted with the Twins in 2015. By the next season, he was already in their outfield mix and ended up hitting .237/.318/.429 with 161 home runs in 1,072 plate appearances as a Twin.
Kepler reached free agency after a down year. He missed two weeks in April with a bruised right knee and the final month of the season with patellar tendinopathy in the other knee. He would have been much better off hitting the open market a year earlier, after a 2023 year in which he hit .260/.332/.484 with 24 home runs. His best season was 2019, when he went deep 36 times and posted a career-high .855 OPS.
He played most of his playing time and career as a right-handed hitter. Kepler owns an OPS of .778 against right-handers with 134 of his 161 home runs. He hit just .221 with an OPS of .655 against lefties, but has been better at .254 over the last three seasons. However, the Phillies probably won’t let him play lefties often and will need platoon partners for both him and Brandon Marsh.
With an outfield of Kepler, Marsh and Nick Castellanos, the decision against a right-handed starter would be relatively easy: Marsh in center with Kepler and Castellanos on the outside corners. The Phillies will be well positioned against righties, but Kepler and Marsh would both be considered holes when facing a left-handed starter, especially a strong lefty.
Johan Rojas could be one of the platoon answers starting for Marsh in center against a lefty. The starting spot in left field against a southpaw still needs to be fixed.
Kepler has historically been a well above average defender in right field and should have the interior defensive lineman spot. He has never played left field in his big league career, with 87% of his career innings coming in right field and the remainder in center. Castellanos hasn’t played left field since his first month as a Phillie, which will create an interesting dynamic if both are on the roster in spring training.
Castellanos has worked hard every day during spring training and over the past three seasons with coach Paco Figueroa to improve his perimeter defense, but the angles vary from corner to corner. Although left field at Citizens Bank Park is one of the easier in the league, it would still be an adjustment.
Kepler’s move likely means the Phillies won’t be signing any of the top remaining free-agent outfielders like Teoscar Hernandez or Anthony Santander, but that’s not surprising considering what those players are reportedly pursuing.
The Phillies’ two big moves so far this offseason – Kepler and reliever Jordan Romano – were one-year deals for players dealing with injury in 2024. Both had strong years in 2023 with longer track records, and the Phils are also betting on a return to form. If the signings are right, they will have filled their two biggest holes in the offseason without committing to either position for four or five years and further locking down an inflexible roster. It’s a risk, but it would also be a risk to sign one of the top free agent signings to a $50 million contract or pay Hernandez or Santander more money than they’re worth.
