Phillies Must Address Historically Bad Mess to Boost Playoff Hopes

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Philadelphia Phillies outfielders Brandon Marsh (left) and Johan Rojas

Sometimes, the need for improvement in a specific area of a team is subtle. Other times, it can be painfully obvious.

For the Philadelphia Phillies , hoping to make some noise in the postseason without addressing the offensive black hole that is their center field position would be taking a risk of historic proportions.

In the “Around the Basepaths” section at the end of his Sunday column, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today highlighted – or should it be lowlighted – the eye-popping lack of production that the Phillies have gotten from players manning the middle of the outfield.

“Their center fielders have a .609 OPS, which would rank the lowest at the position in franchise history,” Nightengale noted.

Phillies Center Fielders Johan Rojas, Brandon Marsh Combine for Franchise Worst .609 OPS

Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh have nearly split the innings at the spot, with Rojas seeing time in 48 of Philadelphia’s 71 games so far this season, while Marsh has played there in 44 games. And neither one has done much to warrant a bigger share.

Rojas, the 24-year-old in his third season, is slashing .230/.282/.310 with a .592 OPS. He has just one home run, 14 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 113 at-bats, while striking out 33 times and walking only nine. Rojas is known more for his defensive efforts, but after combining for four errors in 367 total chances over his first two seasons, Rojas has two errors in just 83 total chances in 2025.

Marsh, the 27-year-old who debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, has posted a slash line of .250/.338/.352 with a .690 OPS, knocking out just two home runs and 15 RBIs, with 39 strikeouts and 18 walks. Marsh also has two errors this season in 96 total chances.

While the offensive woes from the center fielders have gotten much of the attention, Philadelphia also has received little production out of left field. Max Kepler , who has played in 59 games in that spot, has slashed .222/.311/.415, although he does have 14 doubles and nine home runs with 26 RBIs. Marsh has also played 14 games in left.

Philadelphia Expected to be Aggressive at Trade Deadline

MLB analysts expect the Phillies to be active at the trade deadline, as they attempt to hold on to a postseason spot. At 42-29 overall , Philadelphia is 2.0 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East Division, and the team currently holds the top wild card spot, 2.0 games ahead of San Francisco and 3.0 in front of San Diego.

In his June 8 column , Nightengale reported that the Phillies “are expected to be (one of) the most aggressive teams at the trade deadline,” with center field noted as one of their preferred targets. However, Andrew Wright of Newsweek warned that Philadelphia may not find much in the way of elite talent among outfielders available for trade, suggesting that the team “may have to get creative” in order to adequately address its issues.

“That could mean moving Kyle Schwarber back to the outfield and opening the designated hitter role for free agent JD Martinez or even swinging a trade for a DH like Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves or Ryan O’Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles,” Wright wrote.

“Whichever way they decide to do it, the outfield will certainly need to be upgraded if the Phillies front office has any real aspirations of another deep postseason run.”

Dave Benson Dave Benson is a longtime writer with over three decades of experience in a variety of mediums, including 15 years covering high school, collegiate and minor league sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dave is also a licensed English teacher and spent a few years teaching at the middle school level. More about Dave Benson