It didn’t come as much of a surprise, but earlier this week Dave Dombrowski confirmed what many were thinking in the wake of the Adolis Garcia signing. The Phillies plan for the outfield, at least for now,
will be Garcia in right field, Justin Crawford in center, and Brandon Marsh/right-handed batter platoon in left field.
It would appear the outfield is set outside of that right-handed batter for left field. Of course, the Phillies have two internal options for that spot in Otto Kemp and Weston Wilson. Kemp had a decent if unspectacular rookie season in 2025, hitting .234 with a .709 OPS and 8 home runs in 62 games. However, it was reported after the season that Kemp was playing through some rather serious injuries, so that must be considered in the context of his rookie year as well. Wilson meanwhile had a very disappointing 2025, as an oblique injury kept him off of the Opening Day roster and he only went on to appear in 52 Major League games while hitting .198 with a .652 OPS and 5 home runs.
They are somewhat similar players, as we discussed when they were both options for the final roster spot on the postseason roster, but only one will be able to occupy the weak-side platoon with Brandon Marsh. Kemp would appear to be the favorite, as the team has repeatedly talked up Kemp both on and off the record. But he doesn’t have much experience in the outfield, as he’s made 11 appearances there with the Phillies and 9 appearances with the Iron Pigs in Triple-A. Wilson on the other hand has appeared in the outfield 57 times in the Majors. Neither player is particularly strong defensively, but Kemp was especially poor when playing third base in the Majors.
As for their ability to hit left-handed pitching, Wilson has the career edge at the MLB level, but Kemp was better in 2025. Wilson has a career .835 OPS against lefties in 142 career MLB plate appearances, but in 2025 he hit just .194 with a .625 OPS against southpaws in 82 PAs. Conversely, Kemp had a .736 OPS against left-handed pitching in his short time with the Phillies, as opposed to his .671 OPS against same-sided pitching.
Of course, there is a possibility that neither of Kemp nor Wilson are who the Phillies want to platoon with Marsh. It’s at least a little interesting that Dombrowski didn’t specifically name either of them when discussing the platoon this week. It at least leaves the door open to possibly another outside addition. Jo Adell is an intriguing option, but the safe bet would be that if the Phillies look outside the organization to fill this spot, it will be someone in a smaller trade or free agency cost.
Perhaps Rob Refsnyder could be the answer. The soon to be 35-year-old former Red Sox outfielder has a career slash line of .281/.383/.443 against left-handed pitching across parts of ten years in the Majors. Refsnyder spent the last four seasons in Boston after previously spending time with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, Rangers, and Twins. In those four years in Boston, Refsnyder hit .312 with a .924 OPS against lefties in 239 games. Refsnyder would be the perfect platoon partner for Marsh, as he consistently crushes LHP and plays average defense. But Refsnyder will in all likelihood demand a raise from his $2M salary in 2025. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb mentioned that Refsnyder is an option, but his market is robust. Spotrac projects Refsnyder’s market value to be around $4.3M. Would the Phillies be willing to pay a short-side platoon player $4-5M a year, possibly for two years?
So, who should be the Phillies’ right-handed platoon left fielder? Do either of the internal candidates stand out to you? Or would you rather look outside of the organization? If so, who would you target?
