A slow offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies prompted possibly tamed expectations of what the club's roster could end up looking like by Opening Day. One-year deals were given out exclusively and that resulted in outfielder Max Kepler being the Phillies' biggest offensive addition to the lineup.
After the enormous buzz of Juan Soto had concluded, the Phillies had to get more realistic of what their options were to fill the holes in the roster. The Phillies are in unchartered territory with the payroll hitting an all-time high, so smaller signings had to suffice.
Kepler, now 32, spent all of his 10 big league seasons with the Minnesota Twins before hitting free agency. The Phillies then scooped him up on a one-year, $10 million deal, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki and Paul Casella. It's a big change for him, also switching to left field, but given his time spent with the Phillies' coaching staff, Kepler has already made changes for the better.
Max Kepler takes subtle dig at former Twins coaches after working with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long
Kepler is looking to make a good impression, and while he had success playing with the Twins, he looks to be even better. Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long met with Kepler in Arizona for a few days in January to work on his hitting, and Kepler described the tweaks he made to his approach, according to Zolecki.
“I used to have my bat head straight up, and we're just tipping it more back toward the dugout now,” Kepler said, per Zolecki. “It's a more direct path to the zone, opposed to kind of having to gain ground. And if your bat’s [straight up], you kind of have to loop around, and you tend to get under it. So, coming here, it's just more level to enter the bat zone.”
Kepler had a good start to his spring, going 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI on a 104.7 mph single in his Grapefruit League debut with the Phillies on Saturday.
Allow Max Kepler to introduce himself 👏 pic.twitter.com/uD5MJfx20S
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 22, 2025
If the Phillies can maximize Kepler and bring him back to his earlier years, it begs the question of why couldn't the Twins get him going. Long has an impactful way of working with the hitters. He has turned the Phillies into a pure hitting machine and one that will look to break through the intensity of October baseball. If anyone can express the attention to detail, it's Long.
“You could tell he definitely did his homework in Arizona,” Kepler said about Long. “He was ready to work and ready to show me the drills that would cater to me and what would make me feel best, because I'm a feel guy. I don't really like to get into mechanics. There's a time and place for it, but he knew exactly what drills would make me feel what I needed to feel when we were there."
Kepler will be the man in left field come Opening Day and will hopefully have a healthy year. Kepler has had his bumps, but the Phillies have faith that his work with Long will only cement his talent long-term.