The Phillies are reportedly close to bringing in a new free-agent addition to their outfield.
The club has agreed to a one-year deal with former Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler, according to ESPN‘s Jeff Passan on Thursday night. Kepler will make $10 million dollars in Philadelphia, pending a physical. Todd Zolecki and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that the two sides were “working on” the agreement.
Kepler, who turns 32 in February, spent the first 10 years of his career with the Twins. He is a left-handed hitter with a career .746 OPS and 161 home runs. Kepler had just a .682 OPS and eight home runs in 2024 as he was limited to 105 games due to knee and hip issues.
While he’s certainly been a solid player for most of his career, the exact fit with the Phillies does not seem perfect. In an ideal world, Philadelphia figured to be in the market for a right-handed-hitting left fielder. Kepler is a lefty and has a .655 OPS against left-handed pitchers in his career. He’s also never played left field as a big leaguer, although he’s regarded as a good defender in right field and can likely handle a move to the other corner.
It remains to be seen if the Phillies are now done making moves to their lineup. Kepler appears to be an upgrade over Austin Hays from last year, but the platoons the team ran in left field and center field may not be completely gone in 2025 unless Kepler bounces back in a strong way.
