The Philadelphia Phillies have had an outfield issue all year long. Whether it was Brandon Marsh's terrible April, Nick Castellano's second-half struggles, or the huge disappointment that Max Kepler was for a large portion of the year, there's been constant strife in the outfield.
While things have changed recently, with Marsh and Kepler playing better, and the addition of Harrison Bader helping tremendously, there's still an outfield move that Phillies fans have been hoping Rob Thomson and Dave Dombrowski would make.
That would be the call-up of top outfield prospect Justin Crawford. He's hitting well in Triple-A, and the Phillies have talked about calling him up before. But, as Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic revealed, there is only one scenario in which Crawford gets the call.
What Will it Take for Justin Crawford to Get Called Up?
"Crawford, 21, could be an option this season should a Phillies outfielder get injured." Varnes writes. "... The Phillies like what they have seen from Crawford and feel he could contribute at the major-league level. But they also want him to play every day, and, barring injury, that is not an option."
As it stands, with a little under a month to go in 2025, the Phillies won't be calling up Crawford for his big league debut, barring one of the outfielders getting hurt.
Kepler and Marsh have been solid lately, while Bader has been a huge piece of the lineup as the team's everyday center fielder. Castellanos has struggled recently, but he's not likely to sit on the bench, even though Thomson has made that decision more frequently lately.
If one of those four outfielders were to go down with an injury, then Crawford would likely be the call-up to start every day in that outfielder's place. Philadelphia doesn't want the red-hot Crawford to slow down and sit consistently.
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In Triple-A this season, Crawford is hitting .335 with seven home runs, 47 RBIs, 46 stolen bases, and an .865 OPS across 436 at-bats in 110 games. He's also a solid fielder, further providing reason to get called up to the Majors.
While Castellanos has struggled recently, the Phillies aren't considering benching him to start Crawford full-time. Instead, Castellanos and Kepler are platooning in the outfield, with the occasional Weston Wilson start sprinkled in.
The Phillies outfield has been on a rollercoaster ride this season. From the early-season woes to the mid-season pickup of Bader, and subsequent platoon, to now, a solid rotation of outfielders which has been extremely successful, it's been a wild year for Phillies outfielders.
While calling up Crawford would be an exciting move, the Phillies aren't going to do so unless one of the outfielders were to get hurt. It's a clear-cut report from Varnes that all but shuts down a Crawford promotion this season.
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