The Philadelphia Phillies have positioned themselves as one of the best teams in baseball this season, but that hasn’t kept hints of discord at bay. First, it was a brief bumping of heads between stalwart outfielder Nick Castellanos and manager Rob Thomson, and now outfielder Max Kepler sounds frustrated by his playing time.
The Phillies signed Kepler as a free agent this past winter to a one-year, $10 million contract and, according to Kepler, a promise that he’d be an every-day player for the Phillies. Increasingly, though, Kepler, who bats left-handed, has found himself in a platoon arrangement, which means he frequently sits against left-handed starters. Indeed, as Scott Lauber points out in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kepler to date has made just three starts against left-handers this season and none since April 2. Recently, Kepler sat out three straight games before being in Thomson’s lineup on Thursday and Friday.
Kepler first gave voice to his frustrations on Thursday. Matt Gelb wrote in The Athletic:
“The biggest challenge for me is not playing routinely,” Kepler said after Thursday’s loss. “That’s the biggest challenge.”
Kepler was under the impression he would.
“Yeah,” he said, “I was told I was going to be the starting left fielder.”
Then, on Friday, before the Phillies’ eventual blowout win over the Braves, Kepler revisited his concerns, as he told Lauber and other reporters:
“I signed here being told that I was going to be the starting everyday left fielder. That’s why I came here.”
While Kepler has thus far logged just 49 plate appearances against left-handers, he has been the Phillies’ primary in left field. Of the 333 plate appearances the Phillies have gotten from left fielders this season, Kepler has 236 of them. Overall, his 273 plate appearances for the season give Kepler qualifier status. “I kind of consider that a starter,” Thomson said of Kepler’s playing time.
The reality, though, is that the 32-year-old Kepler has not been productive in 2025. Overall, he’s slashing just .213/.304/.383 with nine home runs in 73 games played. That slash line comes to an OPS+ of 88, which means his park-adjusted OPS is 12 points worse than the league average. That’s not optimal for any position, let alone a bat-first role like left field. Even against right-handers, Kepler has struggled this season with a line of .210/.313/.390 in those platoon-disadvantaged situations. The Phillies’ bench also has multiple right-handed-hitting outfield options, and given Kepler’s career-long struggles against lefties, it’s not surprising he finds himself as a platoon player in his thirties.
Kepler did note that it’s difficult to find a rhythm at the plate with erratic playing time, and that’s certainly true. The Phillies, though, are locked in a tight division race with the Mets and also aspire to earn a first-round bye in the NL. Oddsmakers still like Philadelphia to win the NL East (-125 at DraftKings) over New York (+105).
As such, Thomson is seeking out every little tactical advantage he can find. That includes platooning hitters like Kepler, regardless of any disaffection that results from it.
As for the Phillies, they enter Saturday’s contest against the Braves with a 48-34 record on the season and a half-game lead over the Mets in the NL East.
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