Max Kepler, OF, Minnesota Twins
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was clear during the MLB Winter Meetings that the Philadelphia Phillies are not prepared to hand Johan Rojas an everyday role in 2024 unless he makes improvements with his bat. Those comments opened up the question of whether the Phillies are looking to sign or trade for a right-handed hitting outfielder this offseason.
Another problem the Phillies will need to address this offseason is finding a complimentary player to platoon with Brandon Marsh. The left handed hitting Marsh has struggled at times in his major league career against southpaws, and that was one of the flaws that got exposed when the Phillies couldn't close out the Diamondbacks during the NLCS in October.
Max Kepler is another player whose name has been mentioned in trade rumors this offseason. Like the Guardians, the Minnesota Twins are a team that possibly views a rebuild as part of its near future plans. The 30-year-old German-born Kepler could be an option for a Phillies team looking for a short-term solution in left field and for the aforementioned platoon with Marsh.
Primarily a right fielder in recent seasons, Kepler has previously appeared in 55 games (2018) and 60 games (2019) in center field for the Twins, and is probably a stretch for a platoon with Marsh based on that fact. But the Phillies could use an everyday corner outfielder, and Kepler might not cost a lot in a deal as he is in his final season of a six year contract in 2024.
Health has also been an issue for Kepler in recent years, and 2023 was the first time he's appeared in more than 130 games in a season since 2019. Last season also saw Kepler bat .260 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI, so the production is there when he's healthy. Could Kepler be the answer to the Phillies outfield needs?