Despite the Philadelphia Phillies thinking they just about have their outfield set for 2026, there's still a piece missing from the puzzle. With a platoon spot vacant in left field, the Phillies missed out on an opportunity to bring in a quality right-handed bat after free agent Rob Refsnyder signed with the Seattle Mariners on Monday.
With the left-handed-hitting Brandon Marsh penciled in for the majority of at-bats as the left fielder next season, the Phillies really need a platoon bat who hits lefties well. That could have been the 10-year MLB veteran Refsnyder, who mashes left-handed pitching and signed a one-year deal for only $6.25 million, with $250,000 in incentives.
The Phillies missed their chance with the Mariners signing Rob Refsnyder
Refsnyder, who spent the previous four seasons in Boston, appeared in 70 games for the Red Sox in 2025. He hit .269 with an .838 OPS and nine home runs in 209 plate appearances.
But it was against southpaws that the 34-year-old earned his money this offseason. In 138 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, Refsnyder hit .302 with a .560 OPS, slugging .560 with seven homers. Those kinds of numbers would have looked phenomenal paired alongside Marsh's stats against right-handed pitching.
After his early-season slump, Marsh finished 2025 hitting .280 with a .785 OPS overall in 133 games. But 337 of his 425 plate appearances came against righties and he proved once again that he's a platoon player, hitting .300 with an .838 OPS, nine of his 11 home runs and 24 of his 25 doubles.
Much to Phillies fans' chagrin, the front office seems resigned to running out an outfield alignment of Marsh in left, top prospect Justin Crawford in center, and new addition Adolis García in right. With no indication that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski intends to add another external outfield bat to pair with Marsh, the Phillies will be relying on one of their internal options to step up.
With Refsnyder off the board, the spring training battle, at this time, looks like it will be between Kemp and fellow righty hitters Weston Wilson, Pedro León, and Bryan De La Cruz, from their internal options.
Dombrowski seems convinced that Otto Kemp is that player. He showed flashes in his debut season, but playing through a broken knee cap it's difficult to get a sense of how he realistically stacks up as a major league hitter. Kemp batted .234 with a .709 OPS and eight home runs in 218 plate appearances this year.
Barring a surprise move over the next two months of the offseason, it certainly appears that the Phillies missed their best opportunity to secure a top platoon option for left field.