Jul 20, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Otto Kemp (4) in the dugout after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
PHILADELPHIA — One of the biggest winners of Dave Dombrowski's year-end press conference Thursday was Otto Kemp.
Kemp was among the best stories of the 2025 season, as he went from undrafted out of Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego in 2022 to a contributor who started in left field in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers three years later.
And if you listened to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski's year-end press conference Thursday, you came away with the impression that the Phillies think Kemp will prove to be more than just a great story.
"I think Otto Kemp has a chance to be an everyday player. He has a chance to be an everyday player next year," Dombrowski proclaimed. "He has thump in his bat. That ball jumps off his bat. We really like him, we like his makeup. He can play a couple different spots as we have seen. Where that would end up happening, would he play all over the place, that also is a possibility. But we really like him a great deal."
Kemp had some impressive moments during his first stint with the Phillies in 2025, including a two-homer game at Yankee Stadium on July 27. But he was particularly effective after being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sept. 8, as he hit four home runs with 11 RBIs and an .856 OPS over 52 at-bats during the final month of the season. He was so good that he forced his way onto the postseason roster.
Will Kemp develop into an everyday player? That remains to be seen, but he might have the chance to do so in the first half of 2026.
If the Phillies trade Alec Bohm — who is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $10.3 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility — Kemp could be in line to get the bulk of the at-bats at the hot corner to open the season. Third base is Kemp's natural position, although he did post minus-7 defensive runs saved in just 255 innings there a year ago, so he would need to demonstrate some real growth to become a full-time option there over the long run.
With that said, Kemp fared much better at first base (two DRS) and in left field (one DRS) defensively. As long as Bryce Harper is healthy, there won't be a ton of chances for Kemp at first base. But if the Phillies roll with Justin Crawford in center field and Brandon Marsh as a platoon option in the corners, Kemp could be the right-handed pairing with Marsh.
Even if Kemp ends up being best-served as a super-utility guy who plays three days a week, there's still a ton of value in that, particularly when the 26-year-old is years away from even reaching arbitration.
Also in this article, it was mentioned that Otto Kemp fractured his left knee cap on June 17.
Here is the video. https://t.co/sAWPMbpuQP pic.twitter.com/Pgkz58SU68
Also of note from Thursday's press conference was Dombrowski alluding to Kemp playing through multiple injuries during his rookie season.
"He is a tough player. He is tough," Dombrowski said. "And I'm not sure that a lot of players ... a lot of people period ... would play with some of the things that he had. And I'm sure it affected him to some extent, but he is really tough."
Dombrowski never revealed the exact nature of Kemp's injuries, but Matt Gelb of The Athletic later reported on the two injuries:
"There is important context required for Kemp’s rookie season: He fractured his left knee cap on June 17 when he fouled off a pitch that struck him there, team sources said. He chipped a piece off the bone; Kemp continued to play. He’ll have surgery to repair it. He will also undergo a minor surgery on his left shoulder to clean out some damage."
Playing through a fractured knee cap for more than half the season — and continuing to do so when he was optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 17 — is incredibly tough. It speaks to why the Phillies, as Dombrowski said, "like his makeup."
We'll see in 2026 whether Kemp can continue to outperform anything that could have possibly been expected from an undrafted free agent when his professional career began.
