The Philadelphia Phillies raised eyebrows this offseason when they signed left-handed outfielder Max Kepler, despite their lineup clearly needing a right-handed bat. At the time, the team claimed Kepler would be their everyday left fielder, but so far, he’s been used more as a platoon player—and now, he’s not happy about it.
After going 0-for-3 and failing to hustle on a potential double-play ball in a 2-1 loss to the Astros, Kepler voiced his frustrations.
“The biggest challenge for me is not playing routinely,” Kepler told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.
“I was told I was going to be the starting left fielder.”
The timing of his comments didn’t help. They came right after the Phillies were swept by Houston, scoring just one run in three games, despite allowing only five.
Kepler signed a one-year, $10 million deal and has appeared in 60 of the team’s 82 games, but just three of those starts have come against left-handed pitchers. His numbers reflect the platoon struggles: a weak .209 average, .683 OPS, and 9 home runs—and an even worse .143 average against lefties in limited action.
Before joining Philly, Kepler spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Twins, where he was mostly average at the plate. Aside from a 36-homer outlier in 2019, he’s posted an OPS+ under 100 in six of his full seasons.
Unless he turns things around, Kepler could end up following the same path as Whit Merrifield, another veteran who underperformed after signing a one-year deal—and was released last July.
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