The Philadelphia Phillies have had a strong 2025 MLB season to date, posting a solid 69-52 record while currently sitting atop the National League East division with a sizeable lead over the second-place New York Mets. Many of the Phillies players have managed to contribute to their success in one way or another over the course of the season. However, there have been a select few who have struggled to produce on a consistent basis, to say the least.
It might still be too early to look that far ahead to 2026. But with the results of the performances of some of those middling Phillies players this year, they may have already played their way out of the team’s plans for next season. Let’s take a look at five players who might not be with the team by the time the start of the 2026 MLB season rolls around.
5 Phillies players who are playing their way out of the team’s 2026 plans
Otto Kemp, UTL
One of the Phillies' biggest breakout prospects earlier this season, Otto Kemp had a blazing start to his 2025 minor league campaign with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In 58 games, Kemp had a blistering .313 average and 1.010 OPS, with 49 runs scored, 19 doubles, 14 home runs and 55 RBIs. Just for good measure, he showed off his speed with 11 stolen bases. With impressive numbers like that, it didn’t take long before he finally got the call up to the majors in early June.
Kemp made the most of his opportunity by putting up a three-hit game and a four-hit game within his first eight MLB contests, posting a batting average well above .300 in the process. However, despite the solid start to his tenure with the Phillies, Kemp began to be overwhelmed by major league pitching. He has been mired in quite the slump since the All-Star break.
In his past 17 games, the 25-year-old rookie has posted just a .212 average and .699 OPS, with seven runs scored, three home runs and six RBIs to go with a whopping 19 strikeouts in 52 at-bats. Kemp's struggles have been amplified in August, going 4-for-20 with an excruciating 39.1 percent strikeout rate entering play on Thursday.
The Phillies aren’t just going to give up on young talent easily, especially after the strong, productive rate that he was producing for the IronPigs. However, Philadelphia may look to give Kemp more time in the minors in the near future ahead of next season to fine-tune his approach at the plate before ultimately giving him a shot again with the big boys.
Joe Ross, RHP
With the Phillies looking for some reliable arms to help revamp the bullpen this past winter, one move involved recruiting veteran pitcher Joe Ross on a one-year deal. It certainly made sense at the time, as the former World Series champion was coming off a strong bounce-back season in 2024 with the Milwaukee Brewers. As a valuable swingman for the Brewers, he compiled a solid 3.77 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, along with 66 strikeouts in 74 total innings across 25 appearances that included 10 starts. With that reliability and added flexibility to pitch both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen, Ross was expected to play a big role on the Phillies’ pitching staff this year.
However, that hasn’t been the case at all, as the 32-year-old right-hander has put up some of the worst numbers of his career, registering a 4.94 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 34 appearances. More troublesome is the fact that he has allowed hitters to reach base in all but four outings this season.
The Phillies were forced to scramble for bullpen help ahead of the trade deadline, including bringing back 40-year-old veteran David Robertson. With Ross now pitching in mainly low-leverage situations, it appears as though long-term plans with the Phillies isn't in the cards.
Max Kepler, OF
The Phillies had been constantly searching for a solution for their outfield for the past couple of seasons. After cycling through a few options that ultimately didn’t perform up to expectations, they finally decided this past offseason to take their chances with veteran slugger Max Kepler by signing him to a one-year contract.
Unfortunately, Kepler has struggled to produce from an offensive standpoint for the most part over the course of his 2025 campaign. In 102 games, the 32-year-old veteran has amassed just a feeble .210 average and .667 OPS, with 44 runs scored, 12 home runs and 38 RBIs.
The underwhelming performance forced the Phillies' hand and gave them no choice but to deal for outfield help at the trade deadline, adding Harrison Bader to their outfield experiment. Nevertheless, Philadelphia will need to pursue a more consistently productive outfielder in the offseason to hopefully solve their issue once and for all.
Jordan Romano, RHP
When the Phillies went into free agency this past offseason looking for the potential replacement for the closer’s role, they truly thought they found their man in former Toronto Blue Jays elite reliever Jordan Romano. After all, Romano was a two-time All-Star, along with having previously proven to be among the best in the business ever since the turn of the decade despite his uncharacteristic struggles last year.
However, it has now turned out that his disappointing down season from 2024 was not an outlier but in fact an actual regression, as his struggles have persisted into his 2025 campaign.
In 45 total appearances for Philadelphia this season, Romano has posted a less-than-stellar 2-4 record, 7.24 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, while giving up an abysmal career-high 33 earned runs (19 was his previous high for any season) in just 41 innings. He lost his hold on closing duties with the Phillies quite early in the year, but inconsistency and ineffectiveness have followed him even as a middle reliever.
The brilliant acquisition of shutdown closer Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline, who happens to be under contract through 2027, all but seals Romano’s fate with the Phillies as a “one-and-done” signing.
Johan Rojas, OF
Philadelphia had high hopes for former top prospect Johan Rojas. Built with elite speed and athleticism, he possessed enormous potential on both sides of the ball. Rojas certainly impressed for a short while after making his debut in 2023. However, now three seasons into his MLB career, the speed and defense have been right up there, but his bat has been a huge disappointment and remains a significant work in progress.
In fact, 2025 has been his worst offensive season statistically to date. In 71 games played, Rojas had put up just a .224 average and .569 OPS, with just 23 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, one home run, 18 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. More significant was the fact that when the Phillies went out to get Bader at the trade deadline, it wasn’t an underperforming Kepler or even a struggling reserve player at the time in Weston Wilson that ended up losing their roster spot with the Phillies. Instead, Rojas was sent down to the minors to work on his game.
To further complicate things has been the rapid growth and development of young outfielder phenom Justin Crawford over the past couple of years. Having already reached Lehigh Valley this season while crushing Triple-A pitching in the process by batting at a .330 clip, Crawford could be knocking on the door as early as next season. As a result, Rojas may already have lost the upper hand for a job in the Phillies’ outfield.