The Phillies have a new outfielder in the form of Max Kepler.

Reportedly.

Taking what he is projected to make in the deal into account, couple it with the fact that he doesn’t have a crazy set of platoon splits at the plate and you’ve got a recipe for a starting outfielder. A look at his 2024 numbers reveals something of an uninspired signing, but it’s important to remember that he was bothered by some knee issues last year, needing to visit the injured list twice.

So, with him now in the fold, it’s fair to wonder what the team looks to have in mind for their outfield situation, particularly as it pertains to the defense.

Assuming that no more moves are in the works (something I’m not totally convinced is true), one would have to think that the team looking at Kepler in left field, Brandon Marsh in center field and Nick Castellanos in right field. It wouldn’t be the worst alignment defensively. Marsh was excellent in left field last season, but when in center field, he’s no slouch. He’s also no Johan Rojas, but perhaps the team finally sees that more offense is needed from that spot than what Rojas is capable of supplying. Castellanos is not good in right field, but at least he’s not the worst right fielder by OAA (he’s tied for second worst). The downside to not having Rojas in center field is that Marsh won’t be able to cover the same amount of territory needed to make up for Castellanos’ shortcomings out there.

However, Kepler has never played left field. While he has posted some good numbers as a right field according to Statcast, one has to wonder what exactly makes the Phillies believe he’ll be able to seamlessly move across the green expanse. He’s not so good with the glove that we should simply assume that he’ll be good in left, but at least he has a decent base from which to build.

The lineup fit is an altogether different thing to look at, something we’ll get to later. For now, when it comes to strictly defense, this doesn’t feel like it’ll be a huge dropoff in defensive ability. Anytime you do pull someone of Rojas’ caliber off the field full time, the defense will take a hit, but Marsh’s ability to play center field well will help that transition.

An interesting move in an interesting offseason so far.