The Philadelphia Phillies announced Thursday the signing of outfielder Max Kepler.
Kepler, who spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Minnesota Twins, received a one-year, $10 million deal to be the Phillies’ new everyday left fielder. However, Kepler has never played left field in his career, only right and center fields.
Kepler is a classic bounce-back candidate. He was limited to just 105 games last year due to knee and hip injuries and slashed .253/.302/.380, with just eight home runs and a 91 OPS+ (meaning he was 9% worse than the average MLB hitter).
Kepler did, however, hit 24 home runs in 2023 and has been a 2.0 WAR or better player in six of his 10 seasons.
It was a surprising signing considering Kepler is left-handed and not the power-hitting corner outfielder many thought the Phillies would pursue. With Kepler now on the team, Brandon Marsh will return to center field, and Nick Castellanos will remain in right.
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Top Philadelphia Phillies executive reveals team won’t be making any big signings
With Kepler now on the books, the Phillies’ 2025 payroll is at $299 million — just $2 million shy of the fourth luxury-tax threshold of $301 million, which means the team would be taxed 110% for every dollar over.
The Phillies are currently $18 million over the third luxury-tax threshold of $281 million, as owner John Middleton has to pay a 92.5% penalty on every dollar over. Because of that, according to NBC Sports Philly’s Corey Seidman, Kepler’s one-year deal actually comes in at $19.25 million.
With that in mind, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters he doesn’t foresee the team making any big free-agent splashes to upgrade the lineup.
“I would be surprised if we got into impactful free-agent type of signings from an offensive perspective,” Dombrowski said.
Dave Dombrowski on additional moves this offseason:
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) December 20, 2024
“From a positional player [standpoint], you never know what happens. But if we went into spring training with the club that we have right now, I feel very comfortable in that regard.”
“[We] would ideally like to add that one… pic.twitter.com/BUQDPVZNHg
That comment won’t sit well with Phillies fans who have seen an offense go ice-cold in the playoffs the last two postseasons, a team that has long stretches of trouble scoring runs, and one that can chase pitches outside the strike zone too much.
“Everybody we sign is a major penalty at this point,” Dombrowski said, via NBC Sports Philly. “You’re cognizant of that.”
Dombrowski added that he’s comfortable with this offense going into 2025.
“From a positional player [standpoint], you never know what happens. But if we went into spring training with the club that we have right now, I feel very comfortable in that regard,” noted Dombrowski.
“I would be surprised if we got into any impactful free agent signings from an offensive perspective.” – Dave Dombrowski today on zoom call with media pic.twitter.com/XiAIvj1Vrt
— John Foley (@2008Philz) December 20, 2024
Dombrowski added that the team is looking for back-end-of-the-rotation help that can also swing to the bullpen.
The Phillies, who finished first in the National League East for the first time since 2011 this past season, have gone backward in the playoffs the last three years. They’re hoping to finally get over that hump and bring back a World Series championship to Philadelphia.
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