{"id":19603,"date":"2024-12-20T15:49:44","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T15:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19603"},"modified":"2024-12-20T15:49:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T15:49:44","slug":"max-kepler-reportedly-reaches-deal-with-phillies-ending-long-tenure-with-twins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19603","title":{"rendered":"Max Kepler reportedly reaches deal with Phillies, ending long tenure with Twins"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Max Kepler Era in Minnesota has reportedly reached its conclusion.<\/p>\n

The longtime Twins right fielder reached an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday evening on a one-year deal that is said to be worth $10 million, per ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan. The deal, reported by multiple outlets, has not yet been made official.<\/p>\n

The news marks the expected conclusion of Kepler\u2019s journey with the Twins, which began when he was part of their 2009 international signing class as a 16-year-old kid from Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifteen years of my life, half my life as a Twin, I don\u2019t think I could have done much more as a kid from Berlin,\u201d Kepler said in September as he reflected on his career.<\/p>\n

After signing with the Twins, Kepler, now 31, moved to the United States and finished high school at South Fort Myers High School \u2014 across the street from the Twins\u2019 complex in Florida \u2014 while he worked his way through the minor league system.<\/p>\n

He eventually debuted in 2015 and established himself as a major leaguer the next season. Kepler, who played in parts of 10 seasons with the Twins, was the longest-tenured player in the organization. Over the past decade, no player has appeared in more games as a Twin than him. He surpassed 1,000 career games in 2024.<\/p>\n

During his time in Minnesota, Kepler delivered his fair share of memorable moments. His 11 career walk-off plate appearances tie him with Kirby Puckett and Harmon Killebrew for most in Twins\u2019 history. He holds the Target Field record for most home runs hit at the ballpark and while his offense was sometimes inconsistent, he was a steady defender in right field for years.<\/p>\n

His departure in free agency does not come as a surprise.<\/p>\n

Kepler signed a five-year, $35 million extension to stay with the Twins ahead of the 2019 season and the Twins picked up a club option to retain him for the 2024 season, but his final season in Minnesota didn\u2019t quite go to plan.<\/p>\n

After a strong conclusion to 2023 during which he played some of his best baseball, Kepler finished the 2024 season hitting .253 with a .682 OPS, hitting eight home runs and driving in 42 runs in 105 games.<\/p>\n

He ended the year on the injured list, his season derailed by multiple injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the way I\u2019d like to go out as a Twin, but then again (stuff) happens,\u201d Kepler said in September. \u201cThe game comes with a lot of unexpected adversity and challenges, and I\u2019m proud of myself for what I\u2019ve done as an individual, as a teammate, as a friend to everyone in this clubhouse and in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kepler then noted that he would like to play at least five more seasons before retiring.<\/p>\n

While his future seasons may not be in Minnesota, he more than made his mark on the organization during his tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a really good player for a really long time here,\u201d president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said in September. \u201cHe\u2019s been a really steady player for a really long period of time. \u2026 I appreciate Max\u2019s contributions over the time here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published:

Max Kepler played in parts of 10 seasons for the Twins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nMax Kepler reportedly reaches deal with Phillies, ending long tenure with Twins - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19603\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Max Kepler reportedly reaches deal with Phillies, ending long tenure with Twins - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Max Kepler played in parts of 10 seasons for the Twins.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19603\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-20T15:49:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Philadelphia-on-verge-of-signing-Max-Kepler_11zon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"673\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsHan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsHan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19603\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19603\",\"name\":\"Max Kepler reportedly reaches deal with Phillies, ending long tenure with Twins - 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