After a lackluster postseason run last year, the Philadelphia Phillies will largely be depending on the same roster.
The Phillies have signed outfielder Max Kepler to a one-year, $10 million contract, which is the only offensive improvement they have made with less than a month before spring training. Kepler’s improvement is debatable, though, particularly in light of the Phillies’ offensive shortcomings against the New York Mets in the 2024 NLDS, where they only managed 12 runs, hit.186, recorded a.597 OPS, and struck out 38.
Despite never having played left field, Kepler is projected to be Philadelphia’s left fielder. In 105 games with the Minnesota Twins last season, he only managed eight home runs with a mediocre.682 OPS and 91 OPS+.
Kepler is another left-handed batter in a lineup that leans left, so it’s an odd match as well. Despite his stats being higher in left field, Brandon Marsh will now move to center field as a result of his arrival.
Kepler slashed.237/.318/.429, hit 161 home runs, recorded 102 OPS+, and recorded 20.7 WAR over his ten seasons with Minnesota.
This implies that a number of regulars, including a rising star who had a dismal 2024, will be counted on to help the Phillies return to the World Series.
Last year, it was generally assumed that Bryson Stott, a second baseman, would advance.
The Phillies anticipated that Stott would become an All-Star in 2024 after he had a stellar 2023 season in which he hit.280/.329/.419 with 15 home runs, 32 doubles, 78 runs scored, 164 hits, and a 103 OPS+. He also had a historic grand slam in the playoffs against the Miami Marlins. That didn’t happen.
As his average (.245), OPS (.671), OPS+ (89), home runs (11), doubles (19), hits (124), and runs scored (65) all decreased, Stott had a difficult season. He tinkered with his approach, looking as though he was trapped at the plate.
Following the season, Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, disclosed that the second baseman had been battling a painful elbow for the whole of the season due to a little injury sustained during a swing.
“He had a sore elbow for a long time last year,” Dombrowski said to Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It wasn’t anything significant in and of itself, but it was enough to bother him greatly from the standpoint of extension.”
During swings and misses, Stott would hyperextend his elbow, changing his swing, according to manager Rob Thomson. However, Thomson believes that Stott will have a strong season in 2025.
Thomson told The Philadelphia Inquirer, “We believe he’s going to have a much better year.” “He is in good health and is currently working on getting flatter so that he can see the baseball, work counts, and use the entire field again.”
Baseball Reference initiatives In 2025, Stott is expected to hit.256/.317/.389 with 66 runs scored, 13 home runs, 23 doubles, and 127 hits.
