The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball over the last three years but have no World Series championship to show for it.
Philadelphia made the 2022 World Series but fell to the Houston Astros in six games and hasn't returned since the last two years.
This could be the last year the Phillies have to return to the World Series with their main core, which means they may go all out at the trade deadline.
If the Phillies do trade for big names this month, players on the current roster could be moved, and Edward Eng from Fansided thinks outfielder Max Kepler's roster spot isn't safe with the deadline coming.
"As one of the key signings from this past offseason to bolster the Phillies outfield, Max Kepler has been quite the disappointment since joining his new team in 2025," Eng wrote. "Despite showing some glimpses of offensive potential from time to time, it just hasn’t been consistent enough over the course of the season. In 78 games, Kepler has posted just a .210 average and .685 OPS, with 34 runs scored, 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. With the Phillies expecting him to produce at least close to his career average of 24 home runs and 76 RBIs over a full schedule, he is currently on pace to be way below those numbers. Even more puzzling is the fact that the Phillies initially planned to use Kepler as an everyday player. But seeing that he has accumulated just 47 at-bats against lefties, including having only three starts all year against southpaw starters, he appears to be more in a platoon situation instead. But even with that arrangement, Kepler is somehow even hitting worse against right-handed pitching, with just a .210 average facing righties and .213 versus lefties. With the experiment starting to feel like it isn’t working, the Phillies' potential pursuit of an outfielder at the deadline could spell the end of his tenure with the club."
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Kepler, an 11-year veteran, is on a one-year, $10 million deal, which means he would be easy to move off of since he isn't under contract for next season.
The Phillies have a lot of decisions to make this month, and moving off Kepler could be one of them.
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