The Phillies know what the rookie went through over the course of his first big league season, more than just the trials and tribulations of learning how to play in the major leagues.

Kemp played with a fractured left kneecap that occurred when he fouled off a pitch there in mid-June, CBS Philadelphia has learned. He played through the injury for the rest of the season, hiding the pain and continuing to grind out at bats. He’ll have surgery this offseason.

“He is a tough player. He is tough,” Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday. “I’m not sure that a lot of players, a lot of people, period, played with some of the things that he had. And I’m sure it affected him to some extent.”

Kemp will also have a minor procedure on his left shoulder that will require some cleanup. Those injuries affected his power throughout his first season in the big leagues, as Kemp hit .224 with eight home runs and 24 RBI since fracturing the knee cap. He had a .291 OBP and .725 OPS.

“He understood that there’s a whole bunch of things you can’t control,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said during the NLDS. “And the second time he came up, he was really good and really consistent, too. He’s a gamer. He’s an even-keel guy. Nothing really affects him too much. He’s pretty good in this environment.”

Despite the knee injury, Kemp figured things out since he returned to the majors on Sept. 8 after spending a few weeks back in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He hit .250 with an .856 OPS in 16 games. He belted four home runs and had 11 RBIs in 52 at-bats, scoring nine runs.

Dombrowski mentioned Kemp as one of the young players he would like to mesh with the core of veteran players that make up the Phillies roster, along with Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller, Andrew Painter, and Gabriel Rincones.

What the Phillies’ plans are for Kemp next season hinges on the future of Alec Bohm. The Phillies dangled Bohm in trade conversations last winter, and Bohm is expected to make north of $10 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Trading Bohm could open up third base for Kemp, who would be set to receive a significant amount of at-bats there until Miller is ready. The Phillies do view Miller as a shortstop at the major league level, but they have a shortstop in place in Trea Turner.

Kemp played 30 games at third base, his natural position. He played 17 games at first base, nine games in left field, and two games at second base. His versatility in the field is what the Phillies value.

The Phillies have high expectations for Kemp, making 2026 a crucial season for the former undrafted free agent.

“I think Otto Kemp has a chance to be an everyday player. He has a chance to be an everyday player next year,” Dombrowski said. “He has thump in his bat. That ball jumps off his bat. We really like him, we like his makeup. He can play a couple different spots as we have seen.

“Where that would end up happening, would he play all over the place? That is also a possibility. But we really like him a great deal.”