Phillies Notes: Kepler, Crawford, Harper

The Phillies scored just one run over a three-game sweep at the hands of the Astros this week. They’re still in strong position at 47-34 but have had a poor month offensively, ranking 25th in scoring. Max Kepler has been among those struggling, as he’s hitting .167/.265/.350 over 68 plate appearances in June.

Kepler was out of the lineup for three consecutive games between June 22-25. The Phils faced left-handed starting pitchers in each contest and wanted to shield the lefty hitter from an unfavorable platoon matchup. That didn’t sit well with Kepler, who told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb on Thursday that he was told he “was going to be the starting left fielder” when he signed a $10MM free agent deal with Philadelphia. He added that not playing every day has impacted his rhythm.

The veteran outfielder doubled down on those comments today. “I signed here being told that I was going to be the starting everyday left fielder,” he told reporters before tonight’s series opener in Atlanta (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “That’s why I came here.” Manager Rob Thomson pushed back somewhat about Kepler’s gripe, noting that he’s been in the starting lineup for 60 of the team’s 81 games. He’s making his 61st start tonight, hitting fifth and playing left field against Atlanta righty Bryce Elder.

To be clear, there’s nothing to suggest the relationship between Kepler and Thomson has become untenable. The outfielder said today that if he were pushed into a bench role, he’d “take it on and hope to make the most of it.” It’s nevertheless apparent that he wants more playing time against southpaws. A career .221/.291/.362 hitter against lefty pitching, he has hit .222 with one home run in 49 plate appearances against lefties this year.

The greater concern is that Kepler hasn’t produced with the platoon advantage either. He took a .205/.307/.389 slash against righties into tonight’s contest. Kepler had a solid April but owns a .179/.270/.364 line since the start of May. It’s not all that surprising that Thomson would prefer to get another righty bat into the lineup against left-handers when Kepler isn’t performing. Otto Kemp moved from first base to left field for all three of those appearances, which drew utility infielders Buddy Kennedy or Edmundo Sosa into the lineup.

Kepler’s struggles come at a time when outfield prospect Justin Crawford is hitting in Triple-A. The 21-year-old Crawford, a former first-round pick, has a .332/.408/.435 mark at the top minor league level. The son of Carl Crawford, Justin has minimal power but has excellent speed and has shown improved plate discipline. Gelb writes that the organization is bullish on Crawford despite some other teams questioning his offensive approach. He has a 63% ground-ball rate in the minors, a rate that only Jose Iglesias has topped at the MLB level (minimum 100 plate appearances). Thomson told reporters on Thursday that Crawford has “absolutely” put himself on the radar for a big league call.

It leaves the front office with some interesting decisions a month out from the trade deadline. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said this week that the bullpen was understandably their top priority. He downplayed the possibility of adding to the offense. At the same time, the Phillies have gotten minimal production from both corner outfield spots. Kepler and company haven’t hit well in left; Nick Castellanos has been a solid hitter but remains a defensive liability in right.

They could turn to Crawford, but that’d probably require benching one of Kepler or Castellanos. (Crawford can play center field, but Brandon Marsh has been one of the team’s better hitters following a dismal April.) There’s obviously no guarantee that Crawford would produce in his first look at MLB pitching. The Phillies are in a tight battle with the Mets in the NL East and can’t afford to be too patient if he were to struggle.

The lineup should get a major boost with Bryce Harper’s forthcoming return from a wrist injury. Harper hasn’t played since June 6 but told reporters this afternoon that a return next week is “definitely in play” (link via Paul Casella of MLB.com). He took on-field batting practice at Truist Park and is scheduled to hit off a pair of Phils minor league pitchers tomorrow. That could result in a little more outfield playing time for Kemp, their preferred fill-in at first. The 25-year-old rookie hasn’t hit a ton in 17 MLB games — though he did just take Elder deep for his first career home run — but he mashed at a .313/.416/.594 clip in Triple-A.