MLB Announces 80-Game Suspension For Johan Rojas
Major League Baseball announced today that Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas has received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. It was reported a couple of weeks ago that Rojas had tested positive for a PED but that he was appealing. It now appears the appeals process has been completed, as Rojas will begin serving his suspension to begin the 2026 season.
Rojas, 25, has been Philadelphia’s center fielder for a decent chunk of the past three seasons. He gets great marks for his defense and also steals bases but his offense has been more questionable. Since the start of 2024, he has a .237/.279/.312 batting line. That translates to a 64 wRC+, indicating he was 36% below league average at the plate in that time.
Despite his assets, the lack of offense has pushed the Phillies to move on from relying on Rojas. They acquired Harrison Bader at last year’s deadline. Bader became a free agent at season’s end but the Phils plan to give prospect Justin Crawford the job.
Rojas could have started 2026 as a fourth outfielder or perhaps getting regular playing time in the minors. If Crawford struggled in his first exposure to major league pitching, Rojas could have been a speed-and-defense fallback. That’s now off the table for the first half of the season. Rojas could return in the second half but players who receive PED suspensions aren’t eligible for the postseason.
Without Rojas, the Phils feel a bit light in terms of center field depth. Left fielder Brandon Marsh has experience there but is probably stretched defensively. Pedro León is on the 40-man but has just seven big league games under his belt. Utility player Dylan Moore has some limited experience in center. He’s not on the roster but could be selected to serve in a multi-positional bench role.
As Opening Day gets closer, it’s possible some other guys become available. As teams make their final roster decisions, some guys will end up on waivers or in free agency. Perhaps the Phillies can add some extra center field coverage in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: Jesús Luzardo’s Extension, Atlanta’s Depth, And Zack Littell
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Phillies and Jesús Luzardo signing an extension (1:55)
- Johan Rojas reportedly testing positive for a PED and how that impacts the Phillies (16:55)
- The Braves losing Jurickson Profar to yet another PED suspension and Joey Wentz to a season-ending injury (22:15)
- The Nationals signing Zack Littell (36:25)
- The Pirates trading Kyle Nicolas to the Reds for Tyler Callihan (43:40)
- The Rangers signing Andrew McCutchen to a minor league deal (48:45)
- The Astros dealing with a Jeremy Peña injury and how that impacts the ongoing Isaac Paredes trade rumors (53:30)
Check out our past episodes!
- Max Scherzer, The Red Sox’ Lineup, Spring Extension Candidates, And More! – listen here
- Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension – listen here
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Johan Rojas Reportedly Tests Positive For Performance-Enhancing Drug
Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, according to reporter Wilber Sánchez as well as Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman says Rojas will be appealing the ruling. Players face an 80-game suspension for a first-time positive test for PEDs. There has not yet been any formal announcement regarding Rojas from Major League Baseball or the Phillies.
Rojas, 25, has played for the Phillies at the major league level in each of the past three seasons. Broadly speaking, he has been a speed-and-defense guy who doesn’t provide much value from the batter’s box.
He has appeared in 250 games with 51 steals in 58 attempts. He has logged 1,714 innings in center field and has been credited with 22 Defensive Runs Saved and 18 Outs Above Average. But in 699 plate appearances, he has just six home runs and a .252/.294/.340 batting line. That translates to a 74 wRC+, indicating he has been 26% below league average as a hitter in his career overall.
Despite his skills, the lack of offense cut into his playing time with the Phillies. He was essentially an everyday center fielder in 2024, appearing in 120 contests. He held that job for part of the 2025 season but the Phils acquired Harrison Bader at the deadline, which led to Rojas getting optioned to the minors for the final two months of the schedule.
Bader became a free agent at season’s end and eventually signed with the Giants but it didn’t seem as though the Phillies had Rojas as a prominent piece of their 2026 plans. It was reported pretty early in the offseason that he was available in trade talks as the Phils planned to give prospect Justin Crawford a shot at the center field job.
Rojas was likely going to be relegated to a fourth outfielder role. He also has an option remaining and could have been sent down for regular playing time at the Triple-A level. A suspension would cut into his ability to serve in either role. He can continue to play during the appeals process but it’s unclear if the Phils will keep using him in spring games, per Charlotte Varnes and Matt Gelb of The Athletic. He was going to participate in the World Baseball Classic with the Dominican Republic team but dropped out last week.
Although Rojas had fallen down the depth chart, it would be a notable loss for the Phillies if Rojas is ultimately suspended. Their roster is quite strong but the outfield looks like one of the weaker points. As mentioned, Crawford is going to get a shot at the center field job, despite having no major league experience yet. The Phils have plugged Adolis García into right field, hoping for a bounceback after two down years. Brandon Marsh is a decent left fielder but needs a platoon partner since he’s awful against lefties. Otto Kemp could be Marsh’s platoon partner, though he has far more experience as an infielder than as an outfielder.
Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Pedro León are also on the 40-man roster. Both have options and are lined up to start the season in the minors. Rincones hasn’t yet made his major league debut and The Athletic notes that he is currently not playing due to ongoing knee problems. León is a waiver claimee who has just seven big league games under his belt. Bryan De La Cruz, who slashed .191/.240/.213 in limited action last year, is in camp as a non-roster invitee.
It’s not an especially strong group on the whole and losing Rojas would thin it out further. If the Phils want to add before Opening Day, guys like Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen are currently free agents. Some other guys will also shake loose in the coming weeks as teams make their final roster decisions when spring training winds down.
Photo courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Imagn Images
Phillies’ Outfield Largely Set; Justin Crawford To Get Opportunity In Center
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.
Phillies Notes: Rojas, Harper, Coaching Staff
The Phillies are making center fielder Johan Rojas available in trade conversations, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That’s not especially surprising, as the 25-year-old spent the final two months of the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Rojas has appeared in each of the past three big league seasons. He has primarily worked as a fourth outfielder. He’s an elite athlete who hasn’t shown much with the bat. The righty-hitting Rojas owns a .252/.294/.340 slash in just under 700 career plate appearances. He rarely walks and hits a lot of soft ground-balls that limit his power upside. Rojas hasn’t been good against pitchers of either handedness, so the Phillies haven’t been able to maximize his production by using him as a short-side platoon player.
While there’s a limited offensive ceiling, Rojas is one of the sport’s best defensive outfielders. He’s among the fastest players in baseball and has a plus-plus arm. Both Defensive Runs Saved (+22) and Statcast (+21) have valued him more than 20 runs better than average in a little over 1700 career innings. Rojas ranks among the top 15 center fielders in MLB in both metrics over the past three seasons. That’s despite playing fewer innings at the position than all but Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho among those who ranked above him.
Despite the glove, it appears Rojas is falling out of favor in Philly. They acquired Harrison Bader at the deadline to bring in a better glove-first, righty-hitting center fielder. Bader is now a free agent, but it doesn’t seem the Phillies want to give that spot back to Rojas. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged yesterday that he’s looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder again this offseason even as they’re apparently making Rojas available to other clubs. He still has one minor league option remaining, so the Phils could send him back to Triple-A if nothing comes together.
A potential Rojas trade is part of a larger overhaul in the Philadelphia outfield. Nick Castellanos is almost certainly going to be traded or released. Gelb reported as much last month, and Dombrowski acknowledged yesterday that “sometimes a change of scenery can be beneficial for people” when asked about that situation. Max Kepler is unlikely to be re-signed, and the Phillies will want to get former first-round pick Justin Crawford into the mix early in the year. Dombrowski told reporters that the Phillies would be comfortable with Crawford as a center fielder, but most public scouting reports feel he projects better in left. He and Brandon Marsh are the likeliest options to start on Opening Day, yet they’ll need a right fielder and probably a righty-hitting fourth outfielder if they move on from Rojas.
Moving Bryce Harper back to the outfield is apparently not a consideration. For the past few seasons, Harper has said he’s willing to play right field if it enables the Phils to land a big bat at first base. Dombrowski downplayed the club’s interest in doing that.
“He’s actually (said) that for a couple years now, and we really appreciate the aspect of it, but we really look at him as a first baseman at this time,” Dombrowksi said (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “I’m sure he could go out there, but he’s played first well. He’s a good first baseman and continues to get better. We really like our club with him there, so I think he is more of our first baseman.”
Harper has been a full-time first baseman over the past two seasons. Public defensive metrics graded him highly in 2024, though his numbers fell back to league average this year. The Phils could get him a few more designated hitter at-bats if Kyle Schwarber signs elsewhere. Harper remains a solid athlete and probably would have the range to play a decent right field, but the Phillies have wanted to avoid using him out there since he underwent elbow surgery over the 2022-23 offseason.
Dombrowski also touched on the relationship between the organization and the two-time MVP. There was a bit of controversy when Harper took umbrage with the executive’s comment that his ’25 campaign was not “an elite season like he has had in the past.” Harper said in late October that he hadn’t heard from Dombrowski personally. That apparently has changed, as the front office leader said the sides have “had a nice conversation, and everything went well.”
In one other piece of Phillies news, the club announced the hiring of Edwar Gonzalez as an assistant hitting coach. They had a vacancy in that role after Dustin Lind departed to accept the lead hitting coach job with the Orioles. It’s an internal promotion for the 42-year-old, who has spent the past three seasons in the organization. Gonzalez had been the club’s assistant director of hitting development and has one season of experience on an MLB coaching staff, as he spent the ’22 season as an assistant hitting coach for the Marlins. He and Rafael Pena will work as assistants under top hitting instructor Kevin Long.
Phillies Exploring Outfield, Right-Handed Relief Markets
The Phillies head into the offseason with a star-studded roster and substantial payroll obligation, though owner John Middleton has already expressed confidence that the 2025 payroll will increase. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has at multiple points hinted at potential trades rather than free agent pursuits, speaking of a need to be “open-minded” as he looks to augment a roster that’s been a perennial playoff club but fallen shy of a World Series win (or even a World Series appearance). The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports that the Phils have signaled a desire to add an outfielder and at least one right-handed reliever.
As laid out in our Phillies Offseason Outlook, adding in the outfield is one of the most logical pursuits for a Phillies club that has established contributors at catcher (J.T. Realmuto), first base (Bryce Harper), second base (Bryson Stott), shortstop (Trea Turner), third base (Alec Bohm), right field (Nick Castellanos) and designated hitter (Kyle Schwarber). Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas offer options in the remaining two outfield spots, but the Phils aren’t likely to simply roll the same lineup back out in 2024 after another shorter-than-hoped season. Marsh and Rojas could form a platoon, as Marsh bats left-handed to the more defensively gifted Rojas’ right-handed bat. That’d open a path for one incoming outfielder, but Dombrowski’s repeated chorus of “open-minded” approaches to reshaping his offense have prompted natural speculation about trades.
From that standpoint, it’s hard to imagine deals involving Realmuto, Harper, Turner and Schwarber. All have been viewed as core pieces in Philadelphia. The Phillies would probably love to move on from the final two years and $40MM on Castellanos’ contract, but Castellanos is a poor defender who hasn’t hit nearly as well in Philadelphia as he did in his free-agent platform season with the Reds. The Phils would need to pay down a good portion of that contract and/or include a prospect to find a taker.
Bohm, Marsh, Stott and to a lesser extent Rojas are the big league position players who could more plausibly be flipped elsewhere as the Phillies try to reshape their identity. Gelb also lists lefty starter Ranger Suarez as a possibility. Their contractual statuses are as follows:
- Suarez: Controlled through 2025 via arbitration, projected to earn $8.9MM in 2025 (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Bohm: Controlled through 2026 via arbitration, projected to earn $8.1MM in 2025 (via Swartz)
- Marsh: Controlled through 2027 via arbitration, projected to earn $3MM in 2025 (via Swartz)
- Stott: Controlled through 2027 via arbitration, projected to earn $3.5MM in 2025 (via Swartz)
- Rojas: Controlled through 2029, pre-arbitration in 2025
Obviously, the valuation on each player will vary. Suarez would be a one-year rental for a club and would require the Phils — already in need of a starter and likely hoping to dump the remaining two years and $36MM on Taijuan Walker‘s contract this offseason — to replace him. He posted a 3.46 ERA with strong strikeout (23.2%) and walk (6.5%) rates in 150 2/3 innings this season but also missed a month with a back injury and struggled from July through September. Plenty of teams would still love to plug him into their rotation.
Bohm is the most consistently productive but has the highest salary and lowest amount of club control remaining of the position players. He also cooled off considerably after a blistering start to the season. He was one of the game’s most productive hitters through early March (.360/.430/.576 in 142 plate appearances) before reverting to his usual brand of roughly average offense for the remainder of the season (.256/.302/.410 over his next 464 plate appearances). Bohm improved his glovework this year and hit righties better than usual but was still notably more productive against left-handed pitching.
Marsh can handle all three outfield spots but is best suited for left field. He’s never hit lefties well but is well above-average versus righties. He runs well and could probably pop 20 homers with a full season of at-bats, though that’d mean lesser rate stats and more plate appearances versus lefties. He’s hit 28 homers in 948 plate appearances across the past two seasons. Marsh is a useful part-time player, but his 31% strikeout rate since 2023 (and 32.8% career mark) is rather concerning, especially since he’s been platooned so often.
Stott is a plus defender and strong baserunner with 15-homer pop. He makes plenty of contact but has really only had one average season at the plate (2023), in addition to a pair of below-average campaigns during which he’s still been a solid overall contributor because of his glove and speed. If a team with budget problems and no concrete option at shortstop would view him as an outside-the-box candidate at short, his market could expand. Stott hasn’t graded as well there in 770 big league innings but has more than 2000 professional innings at short.
Rojas is an even more extreme case of the speed-and-defense skill set. He’s a plus center fielder with excellent speed but turned in just a .243/.279/.322 slash in 2024 (68 wRC+) and is a career .261/.298/.355 hitter (81 wRC+) in 527 big league plate appearances.
Dombrowski has publicly suggested that he needs to be open to trading “good players” in order to get talent in return. Speculatively speaking, Bohm feels like the most plausible fit, as he’s set to earn the most money, has the least club control remaining and plays a position (third base) where the free-agent market is quite thin this offseason. There could be paths to flipping Bohm for a bullpen arm, a back-of-the-rotation starter or an outfielder, and shedding his payroll could also free the Phillies to pursue other options at the hot corner or give them more money to address needs elsewhere on the roster.
Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and longtime Phils beat writers Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury took a deep dive into the possibilities on the latest episode of their podcast. All three acknowledged that Dombrowski’s repeated phrases this offseason have not-so-quietly signaled a trade is likely. In addition to repeating the “open-minded” line on several occasions, Dombrowski has at least twice suggested the Phillies have enough star players on the roster. At his end-of-season press conference, Dombrowski said his club has “as many star players as about anybody in baseball” before adding that sometimes “the supporting cast” is where the biggest need sits.
Gelb notes in the previously referenced piece that Dombrowski doubled down on that thinking at this week’s GM Meetings. Asked if the Phils would be “big-game hunting” this winter, the Phils’ president replied: “Our ownership allows us to do a lot of things. But sometimes that’s not what you want. We have a lot of good star players on our team. So, read that as you would.”
Phillies Notes: Realmuto, Outfield, Thomson
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke to reporters (including Matt Gelb of The Atheltic) during his end-of-season press conference today regarding the club’s plans headed into 2025 after a disappointing end to their season that saw them knocked out of the NLDS by the division rival Mets in four games. With the club’s entire lineup and starting rotation under team control for 2025, at first glance it may seem as though the Phillies don’t have many obvious places where they can improve. That won’t stop the club’s front office from looking for upgrades, however, as Gelb relays comments from Dombrowski about being “open-minded” and “exploring” possibilities when other teams inevitably come calling this winter.
That could mean making changes to the players on the roster, of course, but one possible change Dombrowski highlighted could come internally: less of J.T. Realmuto behind the plate. The 33-year-old veteran has spent the past six seasons in Philadelphia and is entering the final year of his contract with the club in 2025. The three-time All-Star finished in the top seven of NL MVP voting as recently as 2022 and has been an above average hitter in every season he’s spent with the Phillies, but also endured one of the worst seasons of his career in 2024.
The veteran backstop missed just over a month after undergoing knee surgery in June, and while he posted a solid .266/.322/.429 (109 wRC+) slash line in the 99 games he did play, he did so with lackluster defensive numbers behind the plate that stand in sharp contrast to the reputation he earned as one of the game’s elite defensive catchers earlier in his career. Realmuto’s blocking and framing were both well below average per Statcast, and Fangraphs’s Defense metric rated him as just the tenth most valuable defender of 16 catchers with at least 400 plate appearances this year. Given Realmuto’s waning defensive value behind the plate and the possibility that more rest could help him stay healthy and productive, it’s not entirely a surprise that the club would consider broaching the possibility of Realmuto taking on less of the team’s catching duties with the veteran.
With that being said, however, the possibility of Realmuto playing less frequently behind the plate raises questions about whether he’ll spent the extra time playing elsewhere in the lineup or on the bench. It’s hardly unheard of for even the most well-regarded veteran catchers to start spending more time at DH or first base as they enter their mid-30’s, with Royals veteran Salvador Perez (who played just 91 of his 158 games in 2024 at catcher) standing out as a prime example. That may be easier said than done for the Phillies, though, as the club currently has Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber installed at first base and DH on a regular basis. Both sluggers have experience in the outfield and could theoretically play left field on occasion to free up time away from catcher for Realmuto, though it’s unclear if the Phillies are willing to move either star out of their usual position to accommodate Realmuto.
Finding playing time away from catcher for Realmuto could be even more complicated depending on how the club looks to overhaul its outfield mix. Dombrowski indicated that both Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos figure to feature prominently in their outfield mix next year, but he did not offer those same guarantees to Johan Rojas after a disappointing season where he posted a lackluster 68 wRC+ in 363 trips to the plate. If the club plans to move Rojas into something closer to a fourth outfielder role, they’d have the ability to make an addition in either left or center field, depending on their willingness to move Marsh back to center on a regular basis after he started just 35 games at the position in 2024.
While a pursuit of superstar outfielder and top free agent Juan Soto would be a shock for a Phillies club that already has lots of money tied up in a number of star players, the coming outfield class is deep in interesting bats such as Tyler O’Neill, Jurickson Profar and (depending on his player option decision) Cody Bellinger who could slide into the club’s outfield mix to improve the offense. Of course, any addition to the outfield mix would only serve to further limit the club’s flexibility in playing Realmuto away from the catcher position, but that could be well worth it if it meant upgrading the offense overall.
As the Phillies ponder where to make changes this winter, one place that won’t be happening is the dugout. Dombrowski revealed earlier today that manager Rob Thomson has been extended through the end of the 2026 season, adding an additional year to a contract that otherwise would have left the skipper a lame duck headed into next season. When discussing his newest contract with reporters (including Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer) Thomson made it clear that he expects Philadelphia to be the final stop in his lengthy coaching career. Thomson famously planned to retire following the 2022 season when he was still bench coach of the Phillies, but plans changed when the club fired then-manager Joe Girardi, promoted Thomson to the top job, and the club went on an improbable run to the World Series.
In all, the Phillies have posted a strong 250-185 record under Thomson’s management in the regular season, to go with a solid 20-11 record in postseason games after the club made it to the playoffs in all three years he’s been at the helm. In spite of all that success, however, the 61-year-old hardly seems interested in committing to a lengthy tenure in the Phillies dugout as March relays that Thomson plans to take things year-by-year after his latest contract expires following the 2026 season. That’s hardly an unheard of arrangement for veteran managers, with Rockies skipper Bud Black standing out as a notable current example of a manager who has taken a number of one-year extensions rather than work out a longer-term arrangement, including one just last week.
Phillies Notes: Outfield, Hoffman, Coaching Staff
The Phillies’ season came to a crushing end last night. The NL East champs were bounced by the division rival Mets. It was the second straight year in which their playoff results have taken a step back. Philadelphia went from the 2022 NL pennant to last year’s NLCS appearance to the Division Series.
Matt Gelb of the Athletic looks ahead to the offseason in a piece that’ll be of interest to Philadelphia fans. Gelb writes that Philadelphia is likely to bring in an outfielder via free agency or trade during the offseason. The Phils moved Bryce Harper into first base, leaving them with a primary outfield of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Nick Castellanos. That’s a relatively weak outfield for a contender.
Castellanos’ .254/.311/.431 slash isn’t enough to make up for his lack of defensive value. It’s the opposite story with Rojas. He’s an elite runner and plus defender in center field but hasn’t provided much at the plate. The second-year player hit .243/.279/.322 across 363 trips. Marsh was Philadelphia’s most productive outfielder, hitting 16 home runs with a .249/.328/.419 batting line. The lefty-hitting Marsh has yet to demonstrate he’s more than a strong-side platoon bat though. He hit .192 in 90 plate appearances against southpaws this season. He’s a career .216/.276/.306 hitter versus lefty pitching.
The Phils acquired Austin Hays in a buy-low deadline pickup. Philadelphia projected Hays as at worst a right-handed platoon partner for Marsh in left field. Hays spent most of his Phillies tenure on the injured list and didn’t produce in limited playing time. He hit .256/.275/.397 with 19 strikeouts and no walks in 80 plate appearances after the trade.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Hays for a $6.4MM salary in his final season of arbitration. He’s likely to be non-tendered. The Phils could stick with utility player Weston Wilson as a platoon partner with Marsh. The other outfield spots are areas for potential improvement, though neither is without complications.
Kyle Schwarber blocks Castallenos from getting substantial time at designated hitter. There are still two seasons remaining at $20MM annually on Castellanos’ five-year free agent deal. The $40MM in guarantees is well above his market value. Philadelphia would need to eat a chunk of the contract to facilitate a trade — likely to a team that could play him at DH. They wouldn’t get much back even if they paid the deal down, which could leave the Phils to stick with Castellanos in right.
Upgrading in center field could be even more challenging. This winter’s free agent class is extremely thin. Barring a surprise Cody Bellinger opt-out, the best free agent center fielders available include Harrison Bader and Michael A. Taylor. They’re at best marginal upgrades on Rojas. There aren’t many clear solutions on the trade market either. Leody Taveras and Jose Siri provide similar glove-first profiles. The Cubs could try to offload part of Bellinger’s two-year, $50MM guarantee if he opts in as most expect.
If the Phillies were unable to move Castellanos but wanted a clear outfield upgrade, that opens the possibility of flipping one of their other outfielders. Gelb floats the idea of either Marsh or Rojas becoming an offseason trade candidate. Rojas has five years of club control and is two seasons from arbitration. Marsh is projected for a $3MM salary in his first of three arbitration years.
A Marsh trade would at least open the possibility for the Phils to make a splash in left field. They’d face an uphill battle from teams like the Yankees, Mets and Giants on Juan Soto — though owner John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski’s front office have never shied away from making runs at superstars. Players like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernández could be in play if Soto isn’t realistic. The Phillies could theoretically play Marsh in center field if they were to trade Rojas and sign a bigger bat to play left. That’d project as a very weak defensive grouping.
After the outfield, the bullpen is the next-biggest question. Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez are two of the top relievers in the upcoming free agent class. Wednesday was a bitter ending for both pitchers. Hoffman loaded the bases on a single, hit-by-pitch and walk. Estévez entered and surrendered the Francisco Lindor grand slam that proved to be the nail in the coffin. Yet the tough finish doesn’t negate the importance of Hoffman and Estévez down the stretch. The righties were two of the three highest-leverage arms (alongside Matt Strahm) in Rob Thomson’s bullpen.
Even with both pitchers entering their age-32 seasons, they’re on track for significant multi-year deals. MLBTR’s Steve Adams covered Hoffman’s emergence for Front Office subscribers last month, writing that a four-year contract could be on the table. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel suggested earlier this week that Estévez has a shot at four years in his own right. Even if the relief market isn’t quite that strong, both pitchers have a case for a three-year pact around $10-12MM annually.
Postgame, both pitchers expressed some hope they’d be back with the Phils. “Hopefully. That would be great, but let’s see. You know how it is,” Estévez said of a potential return (via Gelb). Hoffman was a bit more emphatic. “Yeah, that’s all I want,” he told reporters (including Todd Zolecki of MLB.com) about staying in Philly. “But it’s hard to think about right now.”
Major roster decisions will wait for the official start of the offseason in a few weeks. A more immediate question may be on the coaching staff. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted on Thursday that the Phils are set for evaluation meetings to determine whether to make any coaching changes. The Phillies signed Thomson to a one-year extension last December, so he’s under contract through next season.
Phillies To Place Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber On Injured List
The Phillies are taking two big hits today, announcing that both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are going on the 10-day injured list. Harper has a left hamstring strain while Schwarber has a left groin strain. They have reinstated infielder Kody Clemens from the injured list and recalled outfielder Johan Rojas in corresponding moves.
Schwarber exited last night’s game with left groin tightness. Harper was clearly injured on the final play of the game, as he limped to first base after attempting to run out a ground ball. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported the IL placements for Harper and Schwarber prior to the official announcement, adding that both injuries are fairly mild, as Harper has a low-grade hamstring strain and could be back by July 9, but the Phils might also let him stay on the IL through the July 15-18 All-Star break for some extra rest. Schwarber’s left groin strain is mild enough that he could be back after the 10-day minimum.
The fact that both issues are fairly mild is undoubtedly good news, but the two absences will still be a challenge for the Phils. Schwarber is having yet another excellent season at the plate in his typical fashion, blending power and patience. He has a 16.1% walk rate and 17 home runs, leading to a .250/.373/.447 batting line and 133 wRC+. Harper has 20 homers, a 14% walk rate, .303/.399/.582 batting line, 169 wRC+ and the defensive metrics like his work at first base.
The Phillies have the best record in baseball at 53-28 but losing two of the better hitters in the game, even for a short time, is obviously less than ideal. It also adds to a growing injury problem, as J.T. Realmuto, Taijuan Walker, Spencer Turnbull and others are already on the IL.
Given the club’s strong record and the fact that the injuries aren’t too serious, it’s not a catastrophe, but the club will have to improvise for a little bit. Clemens was in good form before landing on the IL, as he currently has a .256/.293/.615 line on the year. But that was in a small sample size of 41 plate appearances, with all but six of those coming with the lefty swinger facing right-handed pitching. Perhaps he and Alec Bohm could share first base, with the right swinging Edmundo Sosa covering third base when a left-hander is on the mound. Sosa performed well when Trea Turner was on the IL but has had less playing time since Turner returned.
Schwarber’s IL placement does come with one silver lining, which is that the club will have more ability to rotate players into the DH slot. That could perhaps allow them to put Nick Castellanos in there fairly regularly, as he’s generally not considered to be an especially strong defender. Rojas is a strong defender but was optioned not too long ago as he struggled offensively. If Castellanos is in the DH slot, Rojas would be part of an outfield group that also includes Brandon Marsh, David Dahl, Cristian Pache and Whit Merrifield.
Phillies Option Johan Rojas
The Phillies announced today that shortstop Trea Turner has been reinstated from the injured list, a move that was reported over the weekend. To open a roster spot for Turner, outfielder Johan Rojas was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Rojas, now 23, was promoted to the majors last summer from Double-A, skipping over the Triple-A level. He had long been a notable prospect thanks to his speed and defense, and he definitely showed those traits in the second half of the 2023 season. He stole 14 bases in 15 attempts while also being credited with 15 Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average in center field.
That was a key development for the Phillies, as they had some defensive challenges, particularly in the outfield. Bryce Harper was returning from Tommy John surgery last year and was able to come back as a designated hitter before being able to play the field. That left the Phils with Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, who are both considered subpar defenders, in the outfield corners most days.
On top of those contributions, the offense from Rojas was better than expected. Rojas struck out in 25.6% of his plate appearances and only walked at a 3% clip, but he managed to slash .302/.342/.430 for a wRC+ of 109. That was largely held up by an unsustainable .410 batting average on balls in play, but any offense was likely considered a nice bonus by the Phillies, since they largely wanted Rojas out there for his glove.
That performance earned Rojas a chance to take the everyday center field job this year, but it has not gone well. He has reduced his strikeout rate to 15.8% but his batted ball luck has disappeared. He has a .273 BABIP on the year and still isn’t drawing walks, leading to a .235/.271/.295 line and 62 wRC+. Bizarrely, his defense has also regressed, with tallies of +1 DRS and +2 OAA so far this year.
The Phils are having a great season, currently sporting a record of 47-24 that has them atop the National League, but the outfield has been their primary weak spot. Rojas has been a part of that but Castellanos, Whit Merrifield and Cristian Pache are also having rough seasons while Brandon Marsh spent some time on the injured list with a hamstring strain. David Dahl was called up to help out and has looked good, but in a small sample of eight games after several years of injury-related struggles.
Rojas and Marsh are the only two players in that group who can be optioned to the minor leagues. Marsh is now off the IL and is having a good season overall, leaving Rojas as the odd man out. He’ll head to Triple-A for the first time and try to get back on track.
The Phils have plenty of justification for making this move based on the lack of performance from Rojas this year, but it’s possible that it will impact him from a service time perspective. He got 80 days of service last year, putting him 92 shy of the one-year mark. He has banked 81 so far this year, meaning he’s still just under that line. He should be able to get back over if he’s recalled at any point but his potential free agency could be pushed back if he stays down for the rest of the year.
For the Phillies, they will now proceed with some combination of Castellanos, Marsh, Pache, Merrifield and Dahl in the outfield. The return of Turner could also perhaps push Edmundo Sosa into that mix, as he has a small amount of outfield experience and was hitting well in covering for Turner. Marsh and Dahl hit from the left side while those other outfield options are righties, perhaps allowing the club to use platoons to get everyone into the lineup.