Change coming again for Phillies outfield that found its groove in second half: ‘If it were up to me, I’d be back’

LOS ANGELES — One of the best storylines of the second half of the Phillies season is the turnaround of the Phillies outfield. It all coincided with the arrival of center fielder Harrison Bader via trade.

Now, with multiple pending free agents and potential trade candidates, change could be coming again for a unit that was productive on both sides of the baseball over the final two months of the regular season.

Bader, the club’s post-trade deadline spark plug, chatted with teammates in the visiting clubhouse after the Phillies’ devastating 2-1 Game 4 loss in extras. Out of the starting lineup for Games 2 through 4 with a hamstring strain, Bader’s final act was a 10-pitch at-bat in the 11th inning of Game 4 that ended with a strikeout.

The series could have played out a lot differently if they had a healthy Bader in center field.

“It really was an absolute pleasure getting dealt here,” Bader said. “Just getting the opportunity to not only play alongside so many players I’ve respected for a long time, but also just in front of an incredible fanbase that really gave us a lot of support down the stretch.”

Max Kepler struggled to “hold it together” as he said goodbye to the people he grew close with in his year with the Phillies.

“Just crying,” Kepler said. “I get emotional.”

He recorded two extra-base hits and made a pair of crucial diving plays in the NLDS.

“Obviously, the baseball part is super important. This is our job, and I gave it my all in that aspect,” Kepler told Phillies Nation. “But what got me through this year is the people in this room, and I just looked forward to hanging out with them day in and day out. They made things easier with the whole project that we attacked together this year. It sucks kind of thinking ahead towards the unknown, because this might be the last day that I spend together with this group. It’s hard to process.”

Castellanos is under contract for another season. A perpetual trade candidate, Castellanos lost significant playing time down the stretch. He drove in the only run the Phillies scored in Game 4 on a double in the top of the seventh. His two-run double in the ninth inning of Game 2 to cut a 4-1 deficit to 4-3.

A mid-season knee injury may have hindered him more than he had let on.

“I think that right now where I’m at, I’m going to get some imaging on my knee, clean that up, see where we’re at and then just go from there,” Castellanos said. “So, first things first.”

Brandon Marsh quietly had another solid year at the plate after going 0-for-29 in April. His .836 OPS since May 1 ranked 14th among major league outfielders (min. 300 plate appearances). He’s been worth at least two FanGraphs wins above replacement in each of his three full seasons with the Phillies. He is what he is: He crushes righties, struggles against lefties and provides above average defense in left field.

Marsh is under team control for two more seasons. His name could be floated around in trade rumors, but it’s hard to envision the Phillies finding an upgrade over him.

Bader has a $10 million mutual option for 2026. The player has the right to accept or decline first. Bader is expected to decline his end of the option and test the market.

Kepler is a free agent for the second time in his career.

Both were asked if they could see themselves back with the Phillies in 2026.

“Yeah. Absolutely,” Bader said. “You know, I’ve said this a lot. I think winning baseball and winning culture and wanting to win, I think, is a universal language. I don’t think the uniform really kind of defines that. Being dealt into a clubhouse where a lot of guys, if you will, speak that same language, I think it’s very easy for me to fit in. I’m just really grateful for everybody. I was just really really excited to play here. Obviously, not what we wanted, but, you know, there’s always a next opportunity, so I’m just focused on that.”

“Yeah, I’d love to be back,” Kepler said. “It’s for (the front office to decide), you know. I really didn’t know what free agency would entail going into this year or signing up with the Phils. But having experienced this whole year with this group of guys has probably been at the very top of my career, just from the memories that I created with them. I have so many to break down and process. But just a great group of guys. Such a variety of characters that really moved me in a lot of different ways. If it were up to me, I’d be back.”

Out of the two, Bader is a better fit on the 2026 roster, but will cost more in years and dollars to retain. Kepler is coming off a down year and will look to rebuild his value in 2026.

“I think my swing was there some days and then it wasn’t as consistent as I wanted it to be,” Kepler said. “But that’s what the offseason is for. I’m going to go back to the drawing board and work on things there.”

It took Kepler some time, but he eventually came around on the idea of contributing in a platoon role.

“Personally, just adjusting to the situations that I was given early on in the season,” Kepler said. “It wasn’t easy adjusting to a new setting, a new scenario and trying to swallow the ego and be the team player I have always wanted to be, but sometimes the game doesn’t allow you to be a team player. You get selfish. On the field, I have a lot to improve on. Hopefully, I get another opportunity to do that.”

The club doesn’t have a ton of organizational depth in the outfield. It’s a yearly issue that spans multiple eras of Phillies baseball. The last two Phillies homegrown All-Star outfielders are Domonic Brown in 2013 and Greg Luzinski in 1978.

The Phillies will once again explore the free agent market for solutions. This year’s class is headlined by Kyle Tucker, who will be seeking a deal worth at least $400 million. Cody Bellinger, who will reportedly opt out of his contract with the Yankees, Trent Grisham and Bader may be the only other outfielders on the market who could sign multi-year deals.

The Phillies could use some production from within.

2022 first-round pick Justin Crawford, after hitting .334 in Triple-A, should debut in the majors in 2026. Whether or not the Phillies anoint him as the club’s everyday left or center fielder at the start of the regular season remains to be seen.

Johan Rojas would have been on the Division Series roster if he did not suffer a quad injury during the final week of the Triple-A season. The Phillies love his glove in center field, but need more from him at the plate. He has one minor league option remaining in 2026.

Prior to the trade deadline, the outfield production was abysmal. They ranked 24th in baseball in OPS and 25th in slugging percentage. The platoons in left and center field weren’t working.

Castellanos got off to a solid start over the first three months before his production took a nosedive in July. Kepler’s roster status was seemingly in limbo after weeks of deep struggles in the middle of the summer. The Phillies thought long and hard about promoting Crawford, but decided against it. Weston Wilson and Otto Kemp spent time in left field against left-handed pitching.

The Phillies prioritized acquiring a right-handed hitting outfielder at the deadline. They landed on Bader and after a couple weeks of extending the platoons in left and center field with Bader added to the mix, Bader eventually became the team’s everyday center fielder. An outfield “rotation” based on matchups eventually became platoons in left (Marsh and Wilson) and right (Kepler and Castellanos).

The plan worked. Bader went on a heater at the plate, batting .305 with an .824 OPS in two months with the Phillies. The hits finally started to fall for Kepler, who batted .250 with seven home runs from Aug. 1 until the end of the regular season. Marsh had the best end to the season out of the three, batting .310 with six home runs and an .899 OPS. Castellanos’ production improved at the plate once the Phillies cut back on his playing time.

But the operation fell apart when Bader went down. It limited the club’s ability to pursue the platoon advantage and optimize for defense. Phillies outfielders combined to go 6-for-44 (.136) across four games in the NLDS. Marsh faced left-handed pitching in only 20% of his plate appearances during the regular season. In the postseason, a third of his 15 plate appearances came against left-handed pitching. Kepler went 0-for-1 with two walks in three plate appearances against lefties. Games 1 and 4 ended with Wilson in left, Kepler in center and Castellanos in right.

The front office will have to some time to think about what the 2026 outfield will look like. Crawford should factor into the plans. The Phillies and Castellanos might both agree that a change of scenery is best for both parties. Maybe the outfield “rotation” could be back for another year, with the personnel looking a bit different — or exactly the same.

“It’s really hard to have a bad day when you get to go to work with those types of human beings,” Bader said. “I’m just extremely grateful for the opportunity, and I’m looking forward to seeing whatever holds for me and my family in the future.”

Phillies Nation’s Ty Daubert contributed to this report.