The Philadelphia Phillies have proven themselves to be one of baseball's top teams throughout the 2025 MLB season. Rob Thomson's club sits at a 37-24 record through the first 61 games, putting the Phillies only 1.5 games behind the rival New York Mets for the NL East and National League lead.
As great as the season has been so far, the Phillies' record would look better if certain underperforming players were meeting expectations. Several veterans are leaving more to be desired with each passing game, including one Philadelphia outfielder who might be running out of chances.
Phillies Can't Afford to Be Patient with OF Max Kepler
The Phillies signed a handful of free agents this past winter, including Max Kepler. After playing the previous 10 seasons in a Minnesota Twins jersey, the German-born outfielder made his way to the City of Brotherly Love on a one-year, $10 million contract back in December.
It seemed like a fair 'prove yourself' deal at the time for Kepler, who was coming off a down year with the Twins. Having said that, his contract would look like a bargain if he reverted to his form that tallied 36 home runs and 90 RBIs during the 2019 campaign — a year where he finished 20th in the American League MVP race.
At first, it looked like Kepler had turned back the clock, slashing .264/.345/.472 with five home runs, 10 RBIs, and 12 walks in his first 30 games (106 at-bats) with the Phillies. Unfortunately, that's where the positivity ends.
Since May 4, Kepler has only one home run with 11 RBIs and nine walks in his last 25 games (77 ABs). He's only batting .156 with a .518 OPS during that stretch, which includes going hitless 14 times (56% of contests). No matter how it's sliced, that isn't the type of performance the Phillies expect to see from the 6-foot-4 outfielder.
Kepler's performance is made worse by the fact that fellow OFs Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas have also been inconsistent at the plate. The big difference is that Marsh and Rojas are only making less than $4 million combined this season, which is less than half of Kepler's salary.
Although he's had his moments, it's fair to say Kepler hasn't done much to contribute to Philadelphia's success this season. If he can't quickly find a way to get his bat going consistently while also making big defensive plays, it might be time for the Phillies to try trading him to a team that might still believe in his potential.