The Phillies finalized their one-year deal with free agent outfielder Adolis Garcia, and that’s likely to be their only notable addition in the outfield this winter, it seems. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells the team’s beat that the outfield is “pretty well set” (via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Garcia is expected to play right field regularly. Brandon Marsh will be in left field versus right-handed pitching. Most notably, top prospect Justin Crawford will be given a chance to take the center field job and run with it.
“If you’re going to give Crawford an opportunity, you’ve got to give it to him, and that’s where we are,” said Dombrowski. “We’re going to give him an opportunity and have him play a lot.”
Crawford, 22 next month, was Philadelphia’s first-round pick (17th overall) in 2022. He’s considered to be among the game’s top 100 prospects at both MLB.com (No. 54) and Baseball America (No. 83). There was talk of a potential midsummer promotion this past season, but Philadelphia’s acquisition of Harrison Bader (now a free agent) presumably contributed to the decision to leave Crawford in the minors, where he thrived with the Phillies’ top affiliate. Based on today’s comments from Dombrowski, a reunion with Bader seems unlikely.
Crawford has minimal power but plus speed that could make him a rangy, quality defender in center. He also upped his walk rate to a career-high 11.5% in 2025, nearly doubling his rate from 2024, while hitting .334/.411/.452 with seven homers and 46 steals (in 57 tries) at the Triple-A level this past season. Crawford struck out in 18% of his plate appearances and made the most of his wheels, putting nearly 60% of his batted balls on the ground.
If nothing else, a Marsh-Crawford-Garcia trio should have a strong floor as a defensive trio. Marsh has plus grades in left field throughout his career (19 Defensive Runs Saved, 9 Outs Above Average in 1751 innings), Crawford can fly (though some scouting reports suggest he needs further work on his reads and jumps), and Garcia has been an above-average to plus right fielder every season except 2024 (when he’d suffered a strained patellar tendon in the final weeks of the preceding season). For a club that spent much of last year trotting Marsh out in center field, where he’s miscast, and gave a team-leading 1208 outfield innings to Nick Castellanos, the defensive upgrade should be immense.
As for Castellanos, it seems increasingly clear that his Phillies tenure has come to an end. He’s owed $20MM next season, the last of a five-year, $100MM contract that hasn’t gone as the team hoped. Castellanos hasn’t hit like he did in Chicago and Cincinnati prior to signing with the Phils, and his long-maligned glovework has only worsened. The Phillies have been trying to offload a portion of his contract — no one is taking more than a small fraction of it — without success. It’s expected that he’ll be released if no trade comes to fruition.
The Philadelphia outfield isn’t so much remade as it is reshuffled, and it bears emphasizing that there are still concerns on the offensive side of the coin. Crawford has yet to take a major league plate appearance. Garcia was a star-caliber hitter with the 2021-23 Rangers, keying their 2023 World Series victory in many regards, but he’s seen a stark decline in performance over the past two seasons. Texas non-tendered him last month, and he’s a pure rebound play for the Phillies heading into the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, Marsh was productive overall in 2025 but is a career .213/.278/.303 hitter versus fellow lefties. He’ll need a platoon partner, clearly. In-house options include Edmundo Sosa, Weston Wilson, Otto Kemp, Johan Rojas and waiver claim Pedro Leon.
Neither Wilson nor Rojas hit lefties well in 2025. Leon has an uneven track record against southpaws in the minors but hit them well in 2024 before barely playing in 2025 due to injury. He’s a 27-year-old with only 21 MLB plate appearances, however. Sosa crushed lefties last year, but the Phils only put him in the outfield for a total of 11 innings. He’s primarily an infielder. Kemp popped four homers in 74 plate appearances versus lefties but also fanned at a 35.1% clip in those matchups. Like Sosa, he spent the bulk of his time in the infield, too.
The Phillies could look to address that platoon bat for Marsh with any number of those in-house options, but despite Dombrowski’s statement today, it also wouldn’t be a huge shock to see them keep an eye on the periphery of the free agent market for righty-swinging outfielders. There aren’t a ton of options out there, but names like Randal Grichuk, Austin Slater and Chas McCormick could all potentially help out. The trade and waiver markets will be worth monitoring as well.
That’ll all take a backseat to one other critical area, however. Dombrowski noted today that catching is “really our main focus” (also via Lauber) and reiterated a desire to re-sign J.T. Realmuto. The Phillies reportedly have an offer out to Realmuto’s camp. A reunion is generally expected, but if he signs elsewhere the Phils would be left looking, with Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs atop the depth chart. Danny Jansen is already off the board on a two-year deal with Texas, leaving Victor Caratini as the top non-Realmuto option in free agency.
Well… I guys no more Jake Meyers to the Phillies.
Or Luis Robert Jr….for now.
🙏
Thats a good thing though
Cue up John Fogerty.
Yuck. That group is straight traaaaash
Rubbish, refuse, garbage etc.
Seems like a group of 4th outfielders to me, not a team trying to succeed in the postseason
Garcia is one of the best fielding RFers in the league. Crawford has elite speed. Marsh is a solid fielder. Offensively, their bats leave a lot to be desired, but the Phillies went from literally the worst fielding RFer in the league to a top defender.
True, but you also don’t want to sacrifice too much offense to improve your defense. If Crawford becomes a good contact hitter at the MLB level, that’s fine even without power, but Marsh and Garcia could become significant issues of the opposite kind if they can’t hit enough.
The 2026 hitting outfield may not be great, but last year the Phillies started with Kepler, Castellanos, and a Marsh/Rojas platoon in center. Kepler had a bad first half and Castellanos stunk all year. Compared to the April 2025 outfield, 2026 is better hitting-wise and light years better in the field.
There is a big difference between not having power and having a 60% ground ball rate. There is no chance in hell of hitting .334 in the majors with that many ground balls.
It’s essentially a similar offensive OF to last year, but a much improved defensive one.
Let’s say he hits .270, steals 30 bags, hits ninth, plays above average center field.
There have been a boatload of excellent traditional leadoff hitters with Crawford’s offensive skill set including many who have busts in Cooperstown. I’m old enough to remember when players like Crawford were fined in the Kangaroo Court every time they hit the ball in the air. Just saying.
You can’t but every position. Crawford will make $800,000. And I presume you know the difference between BA and OBP, but just wanted to miscast what I said.
What if he turns out to be Glanville 2.0?
Doug Glanville might be a good comp. .277 career BA, no power, 168 stolen bases, good defender, 11 year career. He hit 11 home runs in 1999, which I believe ties Bohm and JT in 2025, and 14 home runs in 2001. Batting ninth in this lineup, a contact hitter on a roster of sluggers, yeah. Good comp.
I mean, will they (front office) be happy with that? Or are they going to play with his swing and move him around?
For $800,000, probably thrilled.
Marsh – 114 OPS+
Garcia – 95 OPS+
They both hit enough.
Agreed. Right on
Everyone always hates on Marsh. I don’t understand it. Even if he hits only. 213 vs LHP thats still better than Wilson or Rojas vs any handed pitcher.
I recall Omar Moreno in a Post Game interview being asked about his Game Winning Homer and commenting he will owe Chuck Tanner (The Mgr) $100 for hitting it in the air 🙂
And that was Garcia’s worst year….If you look at his 3-year Average its well over 100 OPS+. Probably good to assume 2026 will yield something above last year but slightly below the 3-yr moving average due to age.
If Crawford is Glanville like then that’s a win. Doug was a good player. As far as a lineup of sluggers, right now, the only slugger is Schwarber. Harper is now more of a hitter, Turner too. For the money they should both be 30 plus hr guys.
Marsh is a very good hitter against RHP, about 30% better than lg avg.
It sucks to fail so bad that you have the 2nd best record in baseball. That is just sooooooo terrible,. No team should have to suck that bad.
I still think they need another guy somehow. If that’s your outfield, then you need some more power from the infield. Maybe trade Bohm for something. That opens up 3rd for a power hitter. Maybe go after Suarez on a one or two year deal. I doubt they sign Bregman but a power hitting 3b would let 2/3 of the outfield mentioned relax a bit.
I still think Bader could be signed. You can then let him and marsh split time in left, see if Crawford is MLB ready, if not, slide Bader over to center full time and Crawford goes to AAA for more seasoning. I do not want to see Rojas at all. His defense isn’t that good to allow for sub par offense. He’s a Walmart Ben Revere at best.
I don’t disagree but they won 96 games without a guy like that, in the first half at least, last year. I think they believe Garcia will hit and field better than Castellanos. A Marsh/Kemp platoon will do better than Kepler. And Crawford, while not providing power, will be acceptable in center as an 8 or 9 hitter. Plus, it’s his time: He hit .334 last year at AAA — and yes, fielders can field ground balls there — stole 46 bases and won his league’s batting crown. If not now for him, when?
I don’t disagree with you other than the winning 96 games is meaningless at this point unless they win and hit in the playoffs, which has been hard these past 4 years. I know crazy to say 96 games is meaningless, but when you come up short repeatedly, those 96 games are irrelevant in the tournament other than getting you into the tournament. I’m all about giving Crawford a shot, I just want the Phillies to have a back up plan if he looks more like Sil Campusano than Doug Glanville.
The Phillies were 9th in Hr in 2025 and their OF power will improve in 2026 with the addition of Garcia in RF.
Winning 96 games is never meaningless. Pretty stupid to try to claim it is.
The playoffs are a crapshoot. The team with the best record ever did not make it to the WS, but you have to win in the regular season to get a seat at the table in the playoffs.
Let’s see how Crawford does when given the chance. He may be just what they need. Marsh had a very good year with .785 OPS and since being with the Phillies he is around 115 OPS+. But they need someone other than Rojas as a 4th OFer who can bat against lefties. Crawford may surprise and Garcia may benefit from a change of scenery. I expect this OF to be much better once they get rid of Nick who had an OPS+ of 100 over his four years as a Phillies on top of being one of these very worst OFers in MLB.
Marsh’s figures are inflated because he was primarily in a platoon. I like him but he cannot hit left handed pitchers.
If he wasn’t the wet haired charmer that is so well liked, he should have been gone already.
Noted, but I expect he will continue to platoon.
I doubt it
I am underwhelmed
I agree with u as a whole however I’m excited to see what Crawford brings. Think he should have been up last year. I mean this FO gave Rojas plenty of chances and he sucked at the plate
Rojas was brought up well before he was done cooking due to need at that time. He always had the speed and the defensive potential, but it was only the first half plus season at Reading that he looked as if the bat might have enough to even get much of a look – and then they needed him and called him up where he had some early success. The bat was always going to be his primary concern.
Crawford has, despite the question marks about the swing and ground ball rate, done nothing but hit. That doesn’t mean that he will make it, but it certainly makes him have far more potential to make the jump and the adjustments required and I am excited to see how he does up here.
I have not given up on Rojas either; as he gets stronger and more experienced he could still be a solid 4th OF, backup CF type with a decent run in the majors with a little luck.
Still trying to replace Odubel funny
They never took Rojas seriously and needed a body. They were more careful with Crawford’s development and expect him to be around a long time.
Does this lineup scare anyone I don’t think so. Does this starting rotation minus Zach Wheeler and ranger Suarez and with Nola and Walker still in it scare anyone I don’t think so. Does this team with the worst in game manager still managing scare anyone I don’t think so.
It is one thing to be something of a negative nellie, but you also bring the fact that you really don’t understand a whole lot about the game to the mix. Congrats…the consistent wholesale whining adds nothing on here.
Yeah. That analysis was a little extreme. On paper, they should continue to own the East, at least.
I’ve been watching the Phillies most likely longer than you have been alive and have always been realistic about what they are. Never been a fan of Dumbrowskis and his mishandling of the second highest payroll in baseball.I read your takes on this team and just keep on going because they are so nonsensical and unrealistic I’m not quite sure what Philadelphia Phillies team you are watching. Pointing out the obvious flaws in this rotation, the lineup and Dumbrowskis constant failure to address that is obvious. Sorry you are as mixed up as your name, IMO.
Extreme but true. On paper I love it.
Boooooooo
@JRubb – Funny, when I have seen your “hot takes”, I thought that they were that of a dumb kid that just needed attention. Thank you for proving that someone can get older but still fail to learn a damn thing.
And please note that anyone that uses the pejorative “Dumbrowski” so often immediately disqualifies themselves from having anything to say that is worth reading. Take care…
He won in Florida and Boston. He’s going to the Hall of Fame. Mocking him is not a good look.
At this point they need to win an NLCS at worst. Owning the east is not good enough. I believe they can but not the end all be all and we as fans should expect more come October.
@Heels – Case in point…
They will sign someone as a platoon bat at the least. If they get someone who can play a little center they will have some insurance.
They already have the platoon bats internally.
That crop looks a bit thin.
Internal platoon bats like Kemp or Wilson. I’d rather go grab Willi Castro or bring back Austin Hays with a now healthy kidney.
Do I think Kemp gets a roster spot, yes, and I like him more than Wilson but they need someone a bit better to split time with Marsh…how about that guy named Bader. Or just an outfield of Crawford, Bader and Garcia from left to right.
Grab Hays, Andujar or Castro to sit on the bench with marsh.
Andujar.
I’ve been screaming for years that Sosa needs more at bats. I think him and Otto Kemp can platoon left with Marsh. Those are 2 guys with pop and a good glove that won’t get everyday playing with the infield of Stott, Turner, Bohm.
Kemp, and for that matter, Wilson should never be in the field.
Amen with “Western” Wilson. How does he keep a roster spot when hes never done a damn thing for us? Ridiculous
I love having Sosa around….He provides solid starter skills at sooo many positions. Shocked, he does not have a full-time job at a much higher salary.
linked wrong Pedro Leon
I actually forgot Justin Crawford went to highschool in Las Vegas. His high school Bishop Gorman was one of my high schools biggest rival’s. Also the same HS that Tommy Pham went to.
Is Justin Crawford part of any fantasy league? Just in case he runs into Tommy Pham.
No idea. Pham I believe is still a free agent. Maybe he goes to an NL East team this year. Chaos could ensue
Who do the Phillies have as DH options? Since they’d still have to pay him if they release him, you’d think Castellanos would provide some value at DH and as a pinch-hitter against lefties if nothing else.
@lanidrac – Ummm some guy named Schwarber.
OK, that explains it.
Some dude named Kyle could probably DH a little bit
Grichuck or McCormick could be had relatively cheap and be able to fill all 3 Outfield spots off the bench. The starting OF may be set but i would expect a bench addition. Eventually though they need to deal with the elephant in the room and realize they have no chance of trading Castellanos
Though I live in the west I had to the chance to see Justin Crawford play last summer and he looks dynamic. Would think he’ll grow into some power eventually.
I am okay with this, and DD usually tells it like it is. Sure – this is not that exciting on the surface, but there are a lot of outfields out there that are not all that.
I like the fact that they held on to Crawford, and that now they are going to give him the opportunity to play. This is hard to do for a winning team, as the default measure is to bring in the veterans. Sure, Bader was great for two months but he probably won’t be for the next two or three years.
I am also sure that a part of it is that they explored trades and found them to be too expensive for too little return, and that the options out there are not all that great anyway.
Bader to Mets in 3 … 2 … 1
The Mets couldn’t stand him. He’ll sign someplace within a week if the Phillies don’t open their eyes, but I highly doubt it’ll be in New York.
He didn’t do well for either New York team. Still a good player. The blonde fundamental will find a spot.
The Angels.
As a Phillies fan that’s music to my ears like the Braves signing Kim for $20M and Mets same for 2 yrs to replace Alonso at 1B. A real jack of all trades and Master (Bader) at none
How much money would the Phillies have to eat on Castellanos deal before Pittsburgh or KC say yes to a trade?
$19.5 million. He’ll likely sign for minimum with Miami or just sit the year out.
All of it minus the $780 K minimum should he sign a minors deal somewhere and make the team. Phils just have little leverage here and why would any team trade for him when they can just wait and sign him after the release.
At best some team wants him enough to trade a low level marginal prospect and pays maybe 1 mil to jump the line?
At least 2/3rds.
You’re the only one with a reasonable take. It is wild that people don’t see there is value, even as a DH for a few million. Maybe 2, Maybe 4, Maybe 6, but there is some level of value in having him as an OF depth + DH option on their team.
Rojas has to be out of the future plans at this point, right?
And I know they keep trying to throw Wilson and Kemp out in left because they are righties but neither can move like a fielder.
I also don’t think they want Harper playing like a mad man in the field either with his giant contract and his injuries.
They need to find somebody else.
Rojas can’t hit and will never hit major league pitching.
It’s tougher than it looks
He makes it that way for sure
It’s like Odubel without the abuse.
Well, Odubel could “hit” but he couldn’t bat.
My opinion: They like Rojas at AAA in case Crawford totally bombs, which I doubt, or he gets hurt. That could lead to a short-term Marsh/Rojas/Kemp/Wilson platoon in center and left. We know Rojas can play the outfield really well. He’s not a bad insurance policy. This is his last option year and probably his last year in the organization.
Still would be nice to go after Refsnyder but looks like Middleton has hit the limit of spending until clear out Bohm, Nick, and Taijuan salaries next year.
Every single guy in the outfield is an “IF”. Brandon marsh cannot hit left-handed pitching. Justin Crawford is a rookie. Garcia hasn’t had a good years since 2023. I’m hoping that Dombrowski is just posturing to bring down Harrison Baders contract demands. Or maybe they trade Brandon for a good reliever. But if Dombrowski thinks this is a World Series type outfield, the game has passed him by.
An “IF” offensively. This are toutfielder. defensive corner outfielders. Plus they have Rojas. So the OF defense should be great. I’d like another bat, but we’ll see.
It’s not fair to take the outfield in isolation when you have Schwarber, Harper, Turner atop the lineup, and making a combined $85 million a year. Dombrowsk I’m sure expects those guys to lead the charge. Stott and presumably Bohm are OK in their roles. JT in decline as well.
One key will be if Garcia can hold down the No. 5 spot. An ideal lineup would go Turner, Crawford, Harper, Schwarber, Garcia — and so on. That’s a lot to ask of Crawford. I always though Stott would be a great 2 hitter but he hasn’t handled it.
I’d be shocked if Garcia isn’t slotted into the lineup between Bryce and Kyle. Separate the lefties. It’s just not enough yet. The offense is gonna be lame again. I don’t know why this team and its management hasn’t learned from the last three years.
A “bad” Garcia had a 2.7 WAR and 93 OPS+. compare that to Castellanos numbers. It is a huge improvement even if Garcia does not improve at the plate.
Marsh had a 114 OPS+. His defense should improve in LF. Even if they sit him against every LH starter, he will still face 75% of the pitchers. Is Rob Refsnyder a free agent? He would be the perfect fit as the 4th OF.
The question mark is Crawford and if he is anything other than awful it got better this offseason already.
Marsh would not yield a good reliever in a trade. Good relievers are a real premium today.
I don’t think DD minds being underestimated. There’s still plenty of off-season to build a 26-man roster.
Just play Marsh every day because his “platoon partners” have f’ing sucked. He has generally hit LHP better than they have.
Thomson loves those platoons. His computer says so.
You think Thomson knows how to use a computer?
Marsh hit .197/.287/.289/.577 vs LHP last season. They can find a platoon partner that can hit better that for the 25% of PA that will come against LHP.
Then why haven’t they?
I was not aware the season had started or that the Phillies had been precluded from making any additional moves this offseason. Thank you for pointing that out. /S
As a Phillies fan I feel like they’re wasting a great opportunity to win a WS. They’re an outfield away from having an amazing chance.
They have the fourth highest payroll in the game, and they’ll probably trigger the fourth and highest payroll penalty. Twenty-five teams would love to have our payroll.
It’s not about payroll, it’s about results. And money foolishly spent….
What money was foolishly spent in your opinion?
Castellanos and Walker to name two.
Castellanos was a bad deal. No denying that.
Walker had a better than average ERA in his 21 starts. He was injured in 2024 and in 2023 he was about average in his 31 starts. Nothing foolish about spending money on guys that can do that. That is called being a #3 starter.
You’re out of touch if you think his deal has been a good one for the team.
Walker has 2 seasons where he was better than average starter for the team and one injury plagued season where he wasn’t. You have to be exceptionally out of touch to use you terminology to think the contract has not been a good one so far. If he repeats 2025 the Phillies will not be complaining. Only a handful of fans will still be whining.
You must be related to him.
I understand there was some derision last year between Casty & Thompson, and it’s probably too late for any kind of reunion, and factor in the bad defense, plus addition by subtraction, etc, etc………but having said all of that, (lol), if the Phillies had played the situation better this off season, wouldn’t planning on platooning him in LF with Marsh make more sense than eating $20 mil? Plus, they would still have “some” leverage if another team was interested. He must have really burned that bridge.
Not when he’s the worst fielding outfielder in the Bigs, which he is. Addition by subtraction in more ways than one.
I think Philly’s 2026 comes down to three questions:
1) How good is Crawford? It’s a big question as it is with any prospect who’s never seen an inning in the big leagues but it’s got to be answered. For almost 20 years this team has been lousy at developing their own talent. If that doesn’t change they deserve a closed window.
2) How effective will Wheeler be coming off the injury? He doesn’t have to be the ace anymore, that’s Sanchez, but if he’s not a really solid number two, the rotation will be a problem unless Nola or Walker learn to walk on water.
3) What’s Bryce Harper’s trajectory? He’s clearly past his prime, and that’s fine. Some players his age take a step back but then plateau to a period of solid, though reduced, productivity, some players free fall.
If Crawford, Wheeler, and Harper have good–not necessarily great–seasons then I think, combined with Sanchez and Schwarber and Turner and Duran, they can win another division. If all three flop… it’s gonna be a long summer.
They’re not going to flop. Harper is likely to at worse repeat 2025. Wheeler should be at worst 80-85% of his former self by, let’s say, July 1. We’ll see about Crawford but why would a guy who hit .3334 at AAA and won his league’s batting title flop in the Majors?
As to Crawford… because it’s happened before. I really wish they had brought him up last season to get a fair look at him before just banking on him taking the job and running with it, especially since the rest of the outfield has so many questions.
What ever happened to taking on salary for prospects….
Detroit should…hire the Superfife!
Or…someone should!
Crawford is a question mark, but Garcia is a 3.5 WAR improvement over Castellanos and Marsh on the strong side of a LF platoon is solid. Without signing a huge OF name like Tucker the Phillies still improved their OF. Kudos on that. I will be interested to see how well Crawford does at the major league level and whether the Phillies will go with internal options or add a 4th OF from outside the organization.
They need to bring back Realmuto and sign or trade for a proven #1 or #2 starter and then go to camp. That is a really good team.
Very disappointing as a Phils fan. Agree with giving Crawford a full-time opportunity, but you have no idea how that will pan out and in my opinion Marsh, Garcia, Casty, and Rojas are all 4th outfielders. This is their window, need to push in the chips. Not sure bader is the guy but you have to do better than this
If the Phillies land Imai, I think that changes what they can do via trade, bc Painter could be made available. Buxton, Tatis, Kwan, Cruz, Abreu/Duran and non OF Marte.
There shouldn’t be a comma before “too.”