Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
The Phillies<\/a> are poised for bigger changes than ever before this year across the board, with several long-standing members of the team heading for free agency and plenty of money coming off the books.<\/p>\n But the outfield is in an all-too-familiar stasis. Once again, the Phillies have not found a reliable, everyday corner outfielder. <\/p>\n After yet another one-year \u201cprove it\u201d deal didn\u2019t work out \u2014 last year it was Max Kepler, this year it was Adolis Garc\u00eda \u2014 the Phillies found themselves trawling the outfield market yet again at the trade deadline. They got creative this time, pivoting to second baseman Luis Arraez instead, with Bryce Harper<\/a> moving back to right as their outfield addition. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Hayes: Sorry, Phillies fans, Dave Dombrowski is not going anywhere for a long, long time. Is that a bad thing?<\/a><\/p>\n When Arraez sprained his ankle in September, that plan didn\u2019t pan out, either. In any case, it was a temporary solution. Harper will be back at first base in 2027, meaning that the Phillies are again in need of an outfielder. <\/p>\n With a labor dispute looming when the MLB\u2019s current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, this offseason will look quite different from others. Once free agency opens after the conclusion of the World Series<\/a>, there could be a frenzy to sign players before the expected lockout begins. <\/p>\n Once the CBA expires, all transactions will be frozen until an agreement is reached, and players will be unable to communicate with teams.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a breakdown of the Phillies\u2019 outfield outlook in 2027 and beyond:<\/p>\n Marsh\u2019s future<\/p>\n With the Phillies\u2019 season on the brink in Game 3 of the wild-card series \u2014 down to their final out against Atlanta in the ninth, trailing by four \u2014 Don Mattingly<\/a> opted to pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh<\/a> with Otto Kemp.<\/p>\n Rather than allow Marsh to face Atlanta lefty Chris Sale, who was pitching in relief on two days\u2019 rest, he went with Kemp. The righty had a .080 average against major league pitching, which he hadn\u2019t faced in over four months, and struck out swinging on a pitch well inside. <\/p>\n The final at-bat of the Phillies\u2019 season was a reflection of both the lack of depth in the outfield from the right-handed side, and of how the organization views Marsh after his stellar first half dove right off a cliff. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Dave Dombrowski didn\u2019t have an \u2018elite\u2019 season. And turning it around in 2027 won\u2019t be easy.<\/a><\/p>\n To be fair, Sale is in a class of his own among lefties, even at 37 years old. But the Marsh of July 1 still couldn\u2019t have been further apart from the Marsh of Oct. 1. And no one is exactly sure why. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what happened to Marsh the second half of the year,\u201d Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski<\/a> said. <\/p>\n The Phillies will bring in a new hitting coach next season after firing Kevin Long<\/a>. It\u2019s certainly possible that a different voice or philosophy could help Marsh. But it seems fairly likely that a platoon corner outfielder is just who he is, as he enters his age-29 season.<\/p>\n Marsh\u2019s first half, which netted him his first career All-Star selection, provided some hope that he had evolved into an everyday player for good. But a .245 first-half batting average against lefties became .148 in the second half, and before long Marsh lost his everyday role and Mattingly\u2019s trust in those situations.<\/p>\n But Marsh didn\u2019t just struggle against left-handers in the second half of the season. He hit .190 against right-handers, too. One possible explanation is that as opposing pitchers adjusted to him over the course of the season, Marsh was unable to adjust back. <\/p>\n To have success in 2027, Marsh will need to hone in on his approach against righties. And the Phillies will need to find an effective platoon partner for him. <\/p>\n \u201cI think at this point, we have to say OK for us, we need to complement him,\u201d Dombrowski said.<\/p>\n The rookie<\/p>\n Justin Crawford<\/a>, 22, was one of several rookies to impact the club this season, and he managed to hold down a role in center field for the entire year. Crawford hit .241 with a .662 OPS and wound up in a platoon with Derek Hill, but for the most part he met the organization\u2019s expectations for his first season. <\/p>\n \u201cHe kept his head above the water all year. He did fine,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for more things out of Justin Crawford as he continues to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n He showed an aptitude for coming through in the clutch, with two walk-off hits this season. In situations with two outs and runners in scoring position, Crawford had a .340 batting average and .907 OPS. He was 5-for-9 in extra-inning at-bats.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: With help from TB12, Aidan Miller is healthy, grateful for adversity, and primed to impact the Phillies in 2027<\/a><\/p>\n But there is room for improvement. The Phillies need him to get on base more and create more havoc when he does. Crawford drew just 27 walks, and stole just 17 bases despite having the second-fastest sprint speed on the team (29.6 feet per second) behind Trea Turner<\/a> (29.9). Turner stole 21, and Bryson Stott<\/a> led the team with 27. <\/p>\n Mattingly said he believes Crawford has the potential to steal 30-40 bases in a season. <\/p>\n Crawford also continues to have room to grow defensively. He metrically graded out poorly overall in center by both defensive runs saved (minus-8) and outs above average (minus-2). <\/p>\n One issue is he has one of the slower initial reaction times among outfielders. Crawford\u2019s jump is 1.6 feet slower than average, according to StatCast data<\/a>. If he can find a way to improve his initial reads and reactions, his already elite speed could help him cover much more ground. <\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s upside with Justin,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cSo where he goes is kind of \u2014 I shouldn\u2019t say totally dependent upon him. It\u2019s dependent upon us to get it out of him and to help him go there. A big part of that is him just continuing to work, continuing to believe, always continuing to believe that \u2018I\u2019m going to get better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Hill\u2019s spark<\/p>\n The June 11 trade with the White Sox for Hill may have flown under the radar at the time, but it proved to be hugely impactful for the rest of the Phillies\u2019 season. What was a desperation move after Garc\u00eda\u2019s season-ending injury, costing them two prospects and international bonus pool money, bolstered the Phillies defensively and gave them a spark plug on the bench. <\/p>\n Hill hit .241 with a .733 OPS, but regularly came through when it mattered most. In 30 pinch-hit plate appearances, Hill had a .296 average and 1.086 OPS. Most memorable was his go-ahead pinch-hit home run<\/a> with the Phillies down to their final strike against the Nationals on June 25. <\/p>\n He also came up big with his glove several times, providing some highlight-worthy defensive plays in the outfield. The 30-year-old Hill, who is under team control through 2028, excelled in his part-time role and looks to be a solid combination in center with Crawford. <\/p>\n Other contributors<\/p>\n Bryan De La Cruz only played 34 major league games after the Phillies recalled him from triple A on July 21, but like Hill, he provided a spark off the bench from the right-handed side of the plate. He finished with a .280 average and .762 OPS, and had two homers and 12 RBIs. <\/p>\n Edmundo Sosa, who is now a free agent, saw his role expand to include regular appearances in left field as a platoon partner for Marsh. <\/p>\n Kemp, Gabriel Rincones Jr., and Felix Reyes also all saw time in the outfield at certain points during this season, but none were effective enough in limited at-bats to carve out a regular role. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Who should return to the Phillies in 2027 and who should move on? See our picks and make your own.<\/a><\/p>\n Johan Rojas wasn\u2019t an option at all in 2026. While serving his 80-game suspension for testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Boldenone, Rojas tore the UCL in his right elbow and underwent season-ending surgery to repair it. <\/p>\n By the time the playoffs rolled around, the Phillies\u2019 overall outfield depth was an issue. With several injuries to players in triple A limiting their choices, the Phillies opted to carry three catchers on the wild-card roster instead of an extra outfielder or infielder. Neither Garrett Stubbs<\/a> or Rafael Marchan wound up making an appearance in the three games. <\/p>\n \u201cWe did have a lot of injuries at the end of the year at triple A that were very unfortunate for us,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cWe probably would have had a different-looking roster for those three games. We had a lot of guys that we were talking about bringing up and maybe having be the 26th guy on the roster to do things. But it was just the way it went at the time. We had a bunch of unfortunate injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n Turner to the outfield?<\/p>\n Dombrowski expects Turner to enter 2027 as the Phillies\u2019 starting shortstop, despite his defensive regression last season that had some theorizing of an imminent move to the outfield. Dombrowski was also clear, however, that there is no guarantee that Turner will stay at shortstop if he does not improve.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he plays shortstop like he did in \u201925, he can play shortstop. But if he plays it like he did in \u201926, he can\u2019t, and he totally understands that,\u201d Dombrowski said. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Phillies will keep Trea Turner at shortstop for now: \u2018He knows he has to be better\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n He added that the Phillies have \u201cfallback\u201d options in the event Turner continues to struggle, which could include internal infield solutions from the prospect pipeline. In that case, Turner would indeed move back to the outfield, a position he hasn\u2019t played since 2016. Turner played 45 games in center field in his rookie season with the Nationals, but he hasn\u2019t made an appearance there since.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think it\u2019s something that he\u2019s a good athlete,\u201d Dombrowski said of the potential of Turner making an in-season position change. \u201cI think he can adjust appropriately, but we\u2019ll wait and we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n The free agent market<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda played just 67 games for the Phillies before suffering a season-ending lat tear. But even before that, he had underperformed the one-year, $10 million contract the Phillies had given him to be their everyday right fielder, hitting .195 with a .599 OPS. <\/p>\n \u201cI know that the Garc\u00eda move didn\u2019t per se work out real well last year, but the reality is there weren\u2019t a lot of right-hand hitting outfielders,\u201d Dombrowski said of the move. <\/p>\n This year, there should be a few more options on the market. <\/p>\n Randy Arozarena, entering his age-32 season, is one of the top available names as he\u2019s coming off a career offensive season with the Mariners. Arozarena hit .281 with a .865 OPS, bashed 26 homers, and stole 26 bases. Defensively, however, he didn\u2019t grade out well metrically in left field with a minus-five outs above average and minus-two defensive runs saved. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: The most imaginative changes the Phillies can make begin with moving Trea Turner off shortstop<\/a><\/p>\n Ian Happ, 32, is a switch-hitting left fielder who hit 24 homers this year for the Cubs and won\u2019t command as high a price as Arozarena likely will. He was far better against righties, however, with a .241\/.358\/.458 slash line against right-handed pitching compared to .145\/.217\/.267 against lefties. <\/p>\n Happ is a plus fielder with a pinpoint arm accuracy that helped him record nine assists from left this year, and earn four career Gold Gloves. <\/p>\n Another right-handed outfield bat on the market is Seiya Suzuki, who hit .270 with 26 homers and an .841 OPS for the Cubs while posting plus-five outs above average in right field.<\/p>\n Perhaps nabbing Suzuki, 32, could also help the Phillies gain a foothold in the Japanese market, which has long been a goal of the organization. They attempted to do so by signing Japanese pitcher Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league deal in 2025, but he was released that July without making an appearance in the majors. <\/p>\n The Phillies have not had a Japanese player on their major league roster since Tadahito Iguchi and So Taguchi in 2008 \u2014 neither of whom were signed directly from Nippon Professional Baseball. <\/p>\n But adding a name like Suzuki could increase the Phillies\u2019 profile in Japan and, in turn, help establish them as a desirable landing spot for NPB stars looking to come to the U.S.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Murphy: To Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies\u2019 problems begin an arm\u2019s length away<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking of NPB stars, third baseman and outfielder Teruaki Sato is expected to be posted by the Hanshin Tigers this winter and would be a fit for the Phillies. Sato, 27, won the 2026 Central League triple crown with a .306 batting average, 39 home runs, and 106 RBIs. <\/p>\n He is a left-handed hitter and had a high strikeout rate of 26.7%. But Sato is expected to be the top international bat available this offseason and defensively could suit the Phillies\u2019 needs. <\/p>\n On the farm<\/p>\n One of the Phillies\u2019 most exciting young prospects is outfielder Francisco Renteria, who is ranked No. 3 in their system by MLB Pipeline. The 17-year-old hasn\u2019t played a game stateside yet and has a ways to go before he could impact a major league roster. But he posted eye-popping stats in his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League, with a .379 batting average and 1.152 OPS. The 6-foot-3 right-hander primarily plays center field, and will continue to get reps in winter ball in his native Venezuela. <\/p>\n Closer to the majors is Dante Nori, who finished the season in double-A Reading and is playing in the Arizona Fall League. Nori turned heads<\/a> as a member of Team Italy during the World Baseball Classic this year, hitting .400 with two home runs in six games to become the only non-major leaguer to be named to the All-Tournament team. <\/p>\n But Nori was hampered by injuries during his minor league season, missing over two months with a stress fracture in his hip.<\/p>\n