The Philadelphia Phillies are sitting pretty atop the National League East with a 7-2 record. Over the weekend, they also handed the Los Angeles Dodgers their first loss of the season with a 3-2 victory Friday night. That being said, not every player is thriving during the team’s hot start, and here are two players who may not be Phillies at this time next month.
Max Kepler - Outfielder
This offseason, Max Kepler signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies to be the team’s left fielder after spending the first ten years of his career with the Minnesota Twins. As a Twin, Kepler was a tremendous source of power from the left side of the plate, with six seasons of 17+ home runs.
After the Phillies home opener, Max spoke to reporters about his first game with the Phils:
"Going into today, I wanted to make a good impression with my team obviously, with the fans, with the whole organization. So when I was in the game … sometimes you just kind of black out. You just let your ability take over. … There’s plenty of times when your mind is tinkering, and that speeds up the game and it makes things harder. But today… my mind was at peace for whatever reason."Max Kepler
Aside from his eighth inning blast, Max’s power has been non-existent. Through the team’s first nine games, Kepler has five hits in 28 at-bats with one home run and one RBI. If history is an indicator of future performance, Max’s bat should heat up, and while the team is winning games and at the top spot in the National League East, his slow start isn’t an issue. But if the team begins to slide and Kepler’s performance does not get any better, he may have a shorter stint in Philadelphia than expected.