The Philadelphia Phillies are in first place in the NL East and a top-five team in Major League Baseball, but not everything is all sunshine and rainbows. As the July 31 trade deadline nears, the team’s weaknesses through the first half of the season are in dire need of an upgrade as the second half gets underway.
The Phillies’ biggest need is bullpen help, but fans are calling for a change in the outfield. Max Kepler has been a failed experiment after signing a one-year, $10 million contract during the offseason, and Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas have yet to prove their worth as starting-caliber outfielders.
The Phillies could have an answer to their outfield problems waiting in the wings in Triple-A, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski doesn’t seem ready to pull the trigger.
Dave Dombrowski pours cold water on hopes of seeing Justin Crawford promoted to Phillies
Justin Crawford is the Phillies’ No. 3 overall and top outfield prospect, per MLB Pipeline. Despite a .343 batting average in his first full season in Triple-A and a need for outfield help at the big league level, Crawford may not be making his MLB debut anytime soon.
“Really, it comes down more on how the player’s playing — and then the opportunity that they have,“ Dombrowski said about his thought process when deciding to call up a player from the minor leagues, per The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber (subscription required). ”You want to know that they’re going to play. You’re not going to bring up a young kid and just have them sitting on the bench. They’ve got to come up and play."
Unfortunately for Crawford, there isn’t much playing time for him with Kepler and Marsh on the big league roster. Even with Kepler batting just .212 and Marsh having just 14 extra-base hits entering Monday, the Phillies will continue to give the veterans opportunities.
Crawford is slashing .343/.416/.451 with a .867 OPS, 23 extra-base hits and 26 stolen bases through 68 games in 2025 with the IronPigs. Although he’s having an incredible season and has had a great start to his minor league career, it’s unknown if the 21-year-old’s production will translate well to the major league level.
The Phillies don’t seem to want to rush their top prospects to the big leagues, as seen with top pitching prospect Andrew Painter, but there comes a point where it’s worth giving the young talent a shot. Crawford has done nothing but hit through 281 career minor league games and could solve a glaring need on a team with World Series aspirations, like the Phillies.