PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Max Kepler and the Philadelphia Phillies finalized a $10 million, one-year contract on Friday with the expectation he’ll become the team’s starting left fielder.
Kelpler spent his entire 10-year career with the Minnesota Twins. Over 1,072 games, Kepler is a .237 hitter with 161 home runs and 508 RBIs.
Phillies president of basbnall operations Dave Dombrowski said the team will give Kepler a shot at playing every day in left.
“We think he can,” Dombrowski said.
Kepler had just eight homers and 42 RBIs in a 2024 season derailed by injury. Dombrowski said Kepler underwent core surgery this offseason to repair a sports hernia that – along with left patellar tendinitis – limited him to just 105 games.
“Max was very careful. He said, `I don´t want to make any excuses,´” Dombrowski said. “It does affect you. It just does. You try to play through it but it’s not easy. It’s a tough (injury) to play through.”
FILE -Minnesota Twins’ Max Kepler (26) is greeted in the dugout after scoring off a double by Byron Buxton during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
In six career games at Citizens Bank Park over 23 plate appearances, Kepler has hit four home runs and posted a .955 slugging percentage. The Twins signed Kepler as a teenager out of Germany.
With Kepler set in left field, the Phillies will continue with Nick Castellanos in right field and Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas in center.
“We think it’s easier to just leave Nick in right field. Let him play out there,” Dombrowski said. “We think Max will make that adjustment very comfortably and he’s willing to do so.”
The Phillies have been quiet in the offseason after winning the NL East and losing to the Mets in the NL Division Series in the playoffs. They signed closer Jordan Romano to an $8.5 million, one-year contract in their only other move of note.
An All-Star in 2022 and 2023, Romano spent the first six seasons of his major league career with the Toronto Blue Jays. He has 105 saves and a 2.90 ERA in 231 relief appearances.
With one of the biggest payrolls in baseball, Dombrowski just might be done making any major moves headed into next season.
“I would be surprised if we got into impactful free-agent type-of signings from an offensive perspective,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t way to say it’s a tight payroll. From an ownership perspective, I don’t think I’ve ever gone to John (Middleton) on anything and him say, no, don’t do something. But you still try and keep things in perspective. We’re over $300 million and everybody we sign is a major penalty at this point.”
What’s left?
Dombrowski said the Phillies would like to add a potential fifth starter with the flexibility to pitch out of the bullpen.
“We’ll keep our mind open,” Dombrowski said.
