The Philadelphia Phillies will essentially be relying on the same roster following a disappointing playoff performance last year.
With less than a month left before spring training, the only move the Phillies have made to improve the offense is signing outfielder Max Kepler to a one-year, $10 million deal. However, it’s questionable how much of an upgrade Kepler provides, especially after the Phillies’ offensive struggles in the 2024 NLDS against the New York Mets, where they scored just 12 runs, hit .186, posted a .597 OPS, and struck out 38 times.
Kepler, who is penciled in to be Philadelphia’s left fielder despite never playing the position, hit just eight home runs with a mediocre .682 OPS and 91 OPS+ in 105 games with the Minnesota Twins last season.
It’s also a peculiar fit as Kepler is another left-handed hitter in a left-handed dominant lineup. His arrival means Brandon Marsh will now shift over to center field, despite his numbers playing better in left field.
Over his 10 seasons in Minnesota, Kepler hit 161 home runs, slashed .237/.318/.429, with a 102 OPS+ and 20.7 WAR.
That means many regulars will be relied upon to get the Phillies back to the World Series, including one young star who had a disappointing 2024.
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Young Philadelphia Phillies star looking to improve upon 2024 campaign
It was widely believed second baseman Bryson Stott would make the leap last year.
Coming off a 2023 season where he slashed .280/.329/.419 with 15 home runs, 32 doubles, 78 runs scored, 164 hits, and a 103 OPS+, and had a memorable grand slam in the playoffs against the Miami Marlins, the Phillies expected Stott to develop into an All-Star caliber player in 2024. That never materialized.
It was a frustrating season for Stott as he saw his average (.245), OPS (.671), OPS+ (89), home runs (11), doubles (19), hits (124) and runs scored (65) all decline. He appeared stuck at the plate as he tinkered with his approach.
After the season, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski revealed that the second baseman was dealing with a sore elbow for most of the season after tweaking it during a swing.
“He had a sore elbow for a lengthy period last year,” Dombrowski told The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. “It was nothing major, per se, but enough that it bothered him a lot from an extension perspective.”
Manager Rob Thomson noted how Stott would hyperextend his elbow during swings and misses, which ended up altering his swing. Thomson, though, expects Stott to have a bounce-back season in 2025.
“We think that he’s going to have a much better year,” Thomson told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s healthy, and he’s working right now at getting flatter and getting back to seeing the baseball and working counts and using the entire field.”
Baseball Reference projects Stott will hit .256/.317/.389 with 13 home runs, 23 doubles, 127 hits, and 66 runs scored in 2025.
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