Having passed the halfway point of the 2025 MLB season, the Philadelphia Phillies have managed to position themselves well heading into the stretch run. Already reaching 51 wins on the season, the Phillies currently sit in first place in the National League East, ahead of the New York Mets.
As they prepare themselves for another postseason run, Philadelphia will be looking for upgrades once again at the trade deadline to help bolster the squad. In doing so, there could be some current players on the roster whose spots could be in jeopardy. So, here are three Phillies players who aren’t as safe as they think with the July 31 trade deadline fast approaching.
3 Phillies who aren’t as safe as they think with trade deadline approaching
Johan Rojas, OF
For someone with intriguing potential such as Johan Rojas, it has been perplexing that he has yet to take off in his tenure in the majors with the Phillies. He definitely has all the tools to be an elite speedster and defender. However, one thing that remains his Achilles heel is his hitting.
Despite having a strong MLB debut in 2023 when he batted a solid .302 with a .771 OPS, 24 runs scored and 24 RBIs in 59 games, Rojas has yet to reproduce those numbers during the past couple of seasons. This year, his offensive numbers are on pace to be even lower than his 2023 and 2024 campaigns. Mustering just a .231 average and .587 OPS, along with just 19 runs scored and 15 RBIs in 62 games, the Phillies are growing frustrated with Rojas (subscription required) according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. In fact, the 24-year-old hit just .133 with just one RBI in June while seeing sporadic playing time.
As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rojas would be sent down to the minors for more development, or even traded by the Phillies if a team is willing to take on his offensive deficiencies in favor of his defense and speed.
Max Kepler, OF
As one of the key signings from this past offseason to bolster the Phillies outfield, Max Kepler has been quite the disappointment since joining his new team in 2025. Despite showing some glimpses of offensive potential from time to time, it just hasn’t been consistent enough over the course of the season. In 78 games, Kepler has posted just a .210 average and .685 OPS, with 34 runs scored, 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. With the Phillies expecting him to produce at least close to his career average of 24 home runs and 76 RBIs over a full schedule, he is currently on pace to be way below those numbers.
Even more puzzling is the fact that the Phillies initially planned to use Kepler as an everyday player. But seeing that he has accumulated just 47 at-bats against lefties, including having only three starts all year against southpaw starters, he appears to be more in a platoon situation instead. But even with that arrangement, Kepler is somehow even hitting worse against right-handed pitching, with just a .210 average facing righties and .213 versus lefties. With the experiment starting to feel like it isn’t working, the Phillies' potential pursuit of an outfielder at the deadline could spell the end of his tenure with the club.
Mick Abel, RHP
Finally, we have rookie pitcher Mick Abel. Going from almost a forgotten young piece in the Phillies organization last season due to his immense struggles with his command to suddenly a major league starter in 2025, Abel has managed to put himself back on the map to some extent in the process. Getting the call while veteran Aaron Nola had been out, the 23-year-old prospect compiled a 2-2 record with a 5.04 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, with 21 strikeouts and nine walks in 25 innings.
No one will forget Abel’s sensational MLB debut, in which he shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates for six innings with nine strikeouts for his first win. However, some struggles in each of his last two outings, one against the New York Mets and one against the San Diego Padres, showed that despite his glimpses of dominance and potential, there was still some work left to be done to make him a polished MLB starter.
Nevertheless, Abel has shown enough intrigue in his abilities that it has caught the eye of many. Despite his recent demotion to Triple-A, with Andrew Painter untouchable, Abel becomes the top pitching prospect available for the Phillies to deal at the trade deadline that prospective teams could end up targeting.