Phillies Will Regret Not Upgrading This Part of Their Roster During Offseason

The Philadelphia Phillies came up short addressing this need in one regard this offseason.

Mar 14, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Max Kepler (17) doubles against the New York Yankees in the first inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Following another early exit from the postseason, there were some whispers that the Philadelphia Phillies could look to shake things up on their roster over the winter.

Trade rumors swirled involving third baseman Alec Bohm and right fielder Nick Castellanos most prominently. Ultimately no deals were reached as both are going to be in the Opening Day lineup next week.

For the second consecutive offseason, the Phillies weren’t very active in free agency.

They made a few additions, bringing on outfielder Max Kepler and relief pitchers Jordan Romano and Joe Ross. All three players were signed to one-year deals as the team opted to not shake things up too much.

It is hard to blame them for taking that route as they are coming off a 95-win campaign that included finishing in first place in the National League East. The playoffs didn’t go as well as they had hoped, but this is a productive core that will be given one more chance to break through.

However, they could have made a more aggressive move to add an impact right-handed bat to the lineup.

Right now, that is the biggest regret the team will have from the offseason, in the opinion of Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report. Honestly, it is hard to argue against that.

Kepler has a lot of talent, but his biggest Achilles heel has been being able to remain on the field. If he can stay healthy, he can produce some big numbers.

He has been excellent in spring training with a .345/.472/.724 slash line with three home runs, two doubles and nine RBI. A 1:1 walk-to-strikeout ratio is a good sign of things to come during the year as well.

However, it is fair to question if the addition of Kepler alone will be enough to help push Philadelphia to the level they wish to attain.

“Even if Kepler has a bounce-back season, there's a good chance president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is going to again find himself looking for another impact right-handed bat in advance of the July 31 trade deadline,” Kelly wrote.

Kepler could prove to be very valuable if his hot spring carries over into the regular season. But a right-handed hitting outfielder, with the ability to play center field, would have been ideal.

Throughout his professional career, Kepler has never played left field. The Phillies are taking a sizable risk using him there exclusively and moving Brandon Marsh into center field, where his defensive metrics worsen as well.

Castellanos is in the running as the worst defensive right fielder in baseball based on several statistics, creating a potential problem down the line with this alignment.

Right now Philadelphia has five projected left-handed hitters in their lineup and a top reserve, right-handed hitting Weston Wilson, set to begin the year on the injured list. It is something to keep an eye on, especially if left-handed pitching finds success against them in the early going.

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