Justin Crawford is one of the top prospects in the Phillies organization. (Cheryl Pursell)
ORLANDO, Fla. — Sitting at the head of a conference table, flanked by General Manager Preston Mattingly on his left and manager Rob Thomson on his right, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski was giving an answer to a question about reshaping the Phillies outfield.
"Yeah, we've got work to do," Dombrowski said.
And as he said it, both Thomson and Mattingly nodded.
There's no secret, the Phillies are expecting to change how they approach their outfield in 2026.
But just exactly how are they going to do it?
While we don't have the final answer to that yet, Dombrowski did provide a few clues as part of his 25-minute pow-wow with Philadelphia reporters at the annual MLB Winter Meetings on Monday.
It sounded like the plan is to once again use Brandon Marsh as the strong side of an outfield platoon.
"He hasn't established himself against left-handed pitching," Dombrowski said. "He's been better at times, but, and maybe he will do it still, but I wouldn't mind complimenting him, or supplementing him with a right-handed hitter."
Brandon Marsh is still just 27 y/o. In ‘25: 11 HR, 116 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR. Runs well. Solid OF play. pic.twitter.com/ZHw74qQos0
Where Marsh slots into the outfield mix, is uncertain, but his versatility is key. He can play all three outfield positions, although center field is his weakest spot. He's best in left field, and is also good in right field.
But the Phillies are definitely looking for a right-handed option to play with Marsh.
Dombrowski said that they do feel like they have an option already in place to do that.
"We think Otto Kemp can be a real good person for him," Dombrowski said. "Not that Otto Kemp can't do other things, but ... let's call it left field for today, I feel very comfortable that that's a productive position for us versus left-handed pitching and right-handed pitching."
And it's hard to argue with that assessment. If you combine Marsh's numbers against righties and Kemp's numbers against lefties in 2025 it would have produced this:
410 PA, 368 AB, .289/.349/.478; .827 OPS; 106 H, 27 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 42 RBI, 35 BB, 104K
The only thing is, Kemp's numbers are a bit of a small sample size, so there is a little bit of projection needed there. That said, the duo combining to be an .827 OPS hitter isn't too shabby.
Dombrowski wouldn't commit to where the Phillies outfield prospect would play, but darn it, he's going to be given an opportunity somewhere.
"It's either left or center," Dombrowski said. "Some people think he's a better left fielder, some people think he's ... going to be a better center fielder as time goes on. There's really a difference of opinion in that regard, even between our own personnel. I don't think he's a right fielder. I don't think his arm is a right fielder's arm. So, he'll play one of the two spots, and some of it might be dependent upon ... how our team shapes up. What is the better option for us? ... There might be times where one day he plays left the next day he plays center — like Marsh has done for us at times."
Justin Crawford diving catch! pic.twitter.com/dC5QS33eeC
But, as mentioned earlier, if the plan, even if it's just for now, is to have Marsh and Kemp platoon in left, then it must mean Crawford is going to play more center field than left field, right?
Well, maybe.
The other part of Dombrowski's answer was the most interesting - "... some of it might be dependent upon ... how our team shapes up."
That means, if the Phillies go out and get another outfielder, that could impact where Crawford and Marsh both slot.
If all things go as outlined above, then the Phillies would need to sign or acquire a right fielder.
But what if they get a center fielder? Or, do the Phillies sign/acquire a guy who is a left fielder?
In either case, that likely shifts Crawford to left and pushes Marsh to right, although they would likely need another platoon bat for right field in that case, because it's unlikely that Kemp plays right.
Who would that bat be?
Dombrowski talked about how things have shifted so much in baseball from the way things used to be when left-handed hitters were hard to find where now, it's the exact opposite as development at younger ages has seemingly over-compensated.
"Many years ago ... I couldn't find a left-handed hitter to make a move," Dombrowski said. "I remember back to my Montreal Expos days. ... Everybody was a right-handed hitter. Now, it's taken a twist for whatever reason. Because there's more right-handed pitching, more kids are hitting from the left-hand side. I'm not really sure on that, but there seems to be an influx of more left-handed hitters. We'll be talking about something and I'll say, 'Yeah, but that's a left-handed hitter again,' you know?"
Dombrowski said he's not opposed to adding another left-handed hitter if it makes sense for the ball club. He did this in the outfield last season with Max Kepler, although that didn't exactly work out. But that doesn't mean he's skittish. He'd do it again.
But the preference, of course, is to get a right-handed hitting outfielder. Harrsion Bader is an option, but he's looking to get a three-year deal, and it's probably a bridge to far to go three years for the Phillies. If he comes back to one or two years, then it's a more reasonable proposition to try and bring him back.
Aside from Bader, where else can you look for a right-handed hitting outfielder?
*Crickets*
They seem to have gone the way of the triceratops.
"There's not a lot of right-handed hitters, and that's just the way it is," Dombrowski said.
