Philadelphia Phillies May Regret Not Investing More in This Key Position

At least one MLB insider believes the Philadelphia Phillies didn't do enough to bolster their roster at this key position.

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

As the start of the regular season gets near for the Philadelphia Phillies, the franchise will hope a good offseason will help be enough to turn things back around. 

Despite being one of the best teams in baseball last year, it was a frustrating end to the campaign for the Phillies. 

Due to the franchise winning just one game in the postseason, a change was to be expected this winter. However, Philadelphia did a good job of being mindful that they still had a great core of talent intact and didn’t do anything crazy. 

For the most part, the Phillies didn’t have a busy offseason, but it was an effective one. Philadelphia added free agents Jordan Romano and Max Kepler, while pulling off a significant trade with the Miami Marlins for Jesus Luzardo. 

Even though it wasn’t a $200 million contract going to a star, the winter can be deemed a success for the Phillies. 

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (paid subscription required) wrote about the offseason for the Phillies and gave them a strong grade of a ‘B’. However, it wasn’t all roses this winter for Philadelphia. 

“They didn’t do enough to improve their outfield offensively; it remains one of the weakest parts of their lineup," he wrote.

As shown in the playoff series against the New York Mets, the offensive production from the outfield was a bit of an issue. 

Besides Nick Castellanos, who was great in the series, Philadelphia didn’t get any type of production from Brandon Marsh, Johan Royas, Austin Hays, and Weston Wilson combined for just two hits throughout the series. 

Clearly, that was an issue for the Phillies, with the bottom of the order and the outfield in particular not helping offensively. 

To fix that, Philadelphia added Kepler this winter. The left-handed slugger has had some good seasons, but consistency of late has been an issue. 

So far in his career, he has slashed .237/.318/.429, with slugging being arguably his best attribute. 

However, the past two years there has been a significant boost to his batting average, with two seasons having a .250 batting average or higher. 

The Phillies have plenty of run producers in their lineup, so a guy like Kepler getting on base near the bottom of the order would be very helpful. 

Even though there is certainly a scenario in which he helps the lineup, he might not be enough to get Philadelphia over the hump when it matters most. 

While it was a strong offseason, only time will tell if the club regrets not going for more offensive production to bolster the outfield.