Harrison Bader has joined the Phillies, but Max Kepler remains in lineup Friday

Harrison Bader is the newest Phillie. (Grace Del Pizzo/On Pattison)

  • Phillies

The Phillies' starting outfield of Nick Castellanos (right field), Brandon Marsh (center field) and Max Kepler (left field) doesn't look any different against a right-handed starter on Aug. 1 than it did prior to the trade deadline. 

Harrison Bader — acquired from the Minnesota Twins Thursday — is with the Phillies and active for Friday night's game against the Detroit Tigers. Bader, who will wear No. 2, isn't in the starting lineup against righty Jack Flaherty for his first night with the Phillies, though.  

Manager Rob Thomson explained the role he envisions Bader in. 

"Well, right now ... it depends on Baltimore's starter the first game, but it's set up right, left, right, left, right, left for the next six days," Thomson said. "So for the next six days, it looks sort of like a true platoon. And then once we get to that point, we'll figure it out." 

That means that Friday with righty Jack Flaherty on the the mound for the Tigers, Kepler is in left field and Brandon Marsh is in center field. 

When reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, a lefty, pitches for Detroit Saturday, there's a good chance Bader will be in center field and either Otto Kemp or Weston Wilson will play left field. The Phillies optioned Johan Rojas to Triple-A Lehigh Valley Friday to make room for Bader on the 26-man roster, so he's no longer a right-handed option for Thomson. 

For his part, Bader — a veteran of nine MLB seasons — did a masterful job of dancing around the question of what he expects his role to be. 

"Probably gonna play some outfield," Bader said with a smile. 

But does he expect to play every day? 

"I think Topper constructs the lineup the way he does," Bader said. "But my intention is to go out there and play my brand of baseball, be myself. It's really the only thing I know how to do, both on and off the field. So I'm just gonna help this team win. 

"Like we all know, I've kind of been injected into a playoff race," Bader added. "All the notions of ego or 'me, me and my playing time,' they all go out the window. I'm here to win. I'm here to help this team win. And I want a shot at the World Series. But it's an everyday effort. We got a lot of baseball left. So I'm just excited to dive into it and see how it all shakes out." 

That answer was a public relations manager's dream. The reality, though, is that while Phillies fans may have wanted president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to aim higher, Bader is arguably now their best overall outfielder. He has almost identical OPS marks against lefties (.774) and righties (.779) this year. So it's surprising that he's not necessarily going to be playing every day right now. 

It would be one thing if top prospect Justin Crawford had been called up and Marsh and Bader were being platooned either in center or left field. But for Bader to be on the bench with Kepler still in the lineup doesn't seem to make much sense. 

Kepler does have 11 home runs, but is hitting just .203 with a .655 OPS. He's been a massive disappointment at the plate after the Phillies signed him to a one-year/$10 million deal in free agency. There was a real thought that he wouldn't be with the team after the trade deadline. Not only is he, but he's in the starting lineup, and seemingly will be in half the games during this homestand. 

So how important is this stretch for Kepler to get his season back on track? 

"Well, I mean, he's been swinging the bat a lot better," Thomson said of Kepler. "He hasn't had many numbers because he's hitting the ball right at people. But he's barreling up a lot of balls ... good at-bats." 

For what it's worth, Kepler hit .196 with a .580 OPS in July. In nine games since the All-Star Break, Kepler has hit .152. There's just not a ton of evidence that the 32-year-old is coming around. 

What gives the Phillies faith that Kepler's fortunes are going to change? 

"He's swinging the bat well now," Thomson said. "Like I said, there's not much to show for it, but he's barreling a lot of balls up. He's playing really good defense." 

Kepler does have two defensive runs saved in left field this season, and the eye test tells you that he's done a nice job adjusting from spending most of his career in right field. 

But while there are individual swings you can point to with Kepler that have looked good this season, but they have been the exception, not the rule. Regardless of what's said publicly, the Phillies know that. 

And whether it's this homestand, 10 days or two weeks, the clock is ticking on Kepler because Bader is capable of playing against right-handed pitchers, and Crawford could join the team in the not-so-distant future. 

Read More Phillies Content At On Pattison

  1. Phillies outfield may be realigned after deadline deal for Harrison Bader, but is it enough?
  2. Dave Dombrowski explains why Phillies are so steadfast in their belief in Andrew Painter
  3. Bryce Harper told Rob Manfred 'get the f--- out of our clubhouse' if he wanted to talk salary cap
  4. Potential Phillies trade target Emmanuel Clase put on paid leave because of gambling investigation
  5. Edmundo Sosa homered in at-bat after Bryce Harper helped him regain his cool
  6. Phillies fans who caught Kyle Schwarber's 1,000th hit begged him to re-sign when trading ball
  7. Can Bryson Stott turn buying a boy a baseball into an A-O-K second half?
  8. 2025 Phillies announcer schedule
  9. What is the Phillies' uniform schedule?



author

Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly is the Managing Editor for On Pattison. He's been on the Phillies beat since 2020. Kelly is also on Bleacher Report's MLB staff. Previously, Kelly has worked for Phillies Nation, Audacy Sports, SportsRadio 94 WIP, Just Baseball, FanSided, Locked On and Sports Illustrated/FanNation. Kelly is a graduate of Bloomsburg University with a major in Mass Communications and minor in Political Science.


STEWARTVILLE

LATEST NEWS

JERSEY SHORE WEEKEND

Events

August

S M T W T F S
27 28 29 30 31 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

To Submit an Event Sign in first

Today's Events

No calendar events have been scheduled for today.