When the Philadelphia Phillies were busy at adding key players at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, it was expected that there would be some roster casualties as a fallout of the moves. In the end, the Phillies made the big trade for their much-needed closer in Jhoan Duran, as well as securing outfield help with the acquisition of Harrison Bader, both from the Minnesota Twins.
When the team added Duran and Bader to the active roster on Friday afternoon, outfielder Johan Rojas was optioned to Triple-A and reliever Daniel Robert was placed on the 15-day IL. Robert would likely have been optioned to Triple-A as well, if not for the blister on his right middle finger.
Despite the transactions, a few Phillies players on the roster bubble managed to retain their spot with Philadelphia following the trade deadline but will likely be gone by the time the 2025-26 offseason rolls around. As a result, we will take a look at four Phillies candidates whose tenure with the organization could end in the coming months.
4 Phillies players who survived the trade deadline, but will be gone by the offseason
Weston Wilson, UTL
Coming off a solid 2024 campaign with Philadelphia in which he became the ninth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, Weston Wilson was expected to be a key bench piece for the Phillies entering the 2025 MLB season. However, an unexpected spring training injury that resulted in a left oblique strain was a foreshadowing of what was to come for his upcoming season and ultimately spelled his fate for the rest of the year.
After returning to the Phillies lineup in late April, Wilson struggled to produce. As a result, he was optioned to Triple-A in mid-June with hopes that he could rediscover his game. Philadelphia recalled him just before the trade deadline, and he somehow managed to keep his spot on the roster as Rojas became the outfield roster casualty instead.
But with a .200 average, .619 OPS, along with just one home run and four RBIs in 24 games this season, Wilson’s future with the club the rest of the season remains murky, and he's a candidate to be optioned back to Triple-A when Alec Bohm returns to the lineup.
Max Kepler, OF
As one of the Phillies’ key signings this past offseason, Max Kepler sure didn’t turn out to be the outfield solution that the team envisioned. Despite being an offensive force for the Twins for over the past decade, Kepler has been a huge disappointment in his tenure with the Phillies this year.
The 32-year-old outfielder has hit only .202 with a .651 OPS to date, marking his worst totals since his brief MLB debut in 2015 with Minnesota. Kepler has recorded just 40 runs scored, 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in 95 total games.
Many had thought the 11-year veteran could be on his way out upon an acquisition of an outfielder at the trade deadline. But even after the addition of Bader, Kepler remains a part of the team for now but will likely lose some valuable playing time down the stretch. Unless Kepler suddenly proves his worth by drastically turning his game around soon, he might not even see the postseason with the Phillies.
Joe Ross, RHP
With the Phillies revamping their bullpen ahead of the 2025 MLB season, the signing of veteran pitcher Joe Ross was supposed to provide a key boost. After all, Ross was coming off a solid 2024 year in which he compiled a 3.77 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, with 66 strikeouts in 74 innings as an effective swingman for the Milwaukee Brewers.
However, Ross has been a far cry from the steady form he showed last season. In 31 appearances, the 32-year-old right-hander has posted a gaudy 5.28 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, giving up a whopping 51 hits, including eight home runs, in just 44 1/3 innings of work.
Ross was a prime candidate to be let go if the Phillies added a legitimate bullpen arm at the trade deadline. They ended up doing exactly that with the addition of Duran, but the fact that Ross is currently on the IL for back spasms has given him some temporary life for now. Nevertheless, anything can happen between now and the end of the season, so Ross has little time left to prove that he still belongs on the contender.
Jordan Romano, RHP
Finally, we have perhaps the Phillies’ biggest move this past offseason in signing reliever Jordan Romano to potentially be the closer for the team in 2025. Well, that plan certainly backfired when Romano struggled immensely coming out of the gate. By the end of April, the 32-year-old right-hander was flashing an abysmal 12.19 ERA but somehow kept his blown saves to just two.
Romano followed that up with a decent stretch in May in which he gave up only three earned runs over the whole month. But his unfortunate struggles returned once again, leading to his current 1-4 record, 6.75 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, while losing his hold on the closer position. With Romano clearly not the answer to close out games, it forced the Phillies to search for a legitimate one at the trade deadline.
Romano has been pushed to some lower-leverage situations but somehow manages to remain in the Phillies bullpen mix for the moment. But for what has turned out to be a failed experiment so far, there's a chance Romano won't make it to the end of the season.