The Philadelphia Phillies’ outfield has struggled through the first half of the season. Nick Castellanos has performed well, but Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Max Kepler have been underwhelming.
Castellanos has started in 84 of the Phillies’ 85 games. Marsh has started 49 games, Rojas has started 38 games and Kepler has started 64 games. Kepler spoke on his playing time and voiced his frustration with his role on the team.
“The biggest challenge for me is not playing routinely,” Kepler said after Thursday’s loss, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. “That’s the biggest challenge.”
Gelb also revealed that he was told he was going to be the starting left fielder this year. However, Manager Rob Thomson has chosen not to use Kepler against southpaws. Kepler is slashing .217/.260/.348 in 50 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this year. He has a .652 career OPS against left-handed pitching.
Despite the Phillies’ outfield woes, the team has a lead over the New York Mets in the National League East through 85 games. Kepler’s lack of playing time may be having a negative effect on his production, but the Phillies ultimately need an upgrade.
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Kepler has never hit better than .260 over the course of a big league season. He had a couple of very productive seasons with the Minnesota Twins before signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Phillies, but he has not looked like that same kind of player this year.
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