The Philadelphia Phillies have seen their outfield take a major shift in the weeks following the MLB trade deadline. They acquired Harrison Bader from the Minnesota Twins and kept the rest of the outfield intact.
But, in the time since the trade deadline, the outfield looks and acts a lot different than before the deadline. Bader is the everyday center fielder, while Brandon Marsh, Max Kepler, Nick Castellanos, and Weston Wilson are platooning in the outfield corners.
Originally, this wasn't the Phillies' plan after the trade deadline. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Phillies had something different in mind for the outfield, especially with Castellanos in right field.
The Phillies changed their original outfield plans after the trade deadline
"The Phillies' original plan after acquiring Bader was to platoon in both center and left," Rosenthal writes, "With Nick Castellanos continuing to play every day in right."
But, Phillies manager Rob Thomson changed his tune and altered the platoon from left field and center field to left field and right field.
Kepler and Castellanos now platoon in right field, while Marsh and Wilson platoon in left. This decision came to fruition thanks to the struggles of Castellanos since the deadline. In August, Castellanos hit just .180 with a .509 OPS in 24 games.
If the platoon wasn't in the plans originally, his struggles, combined with Kepler turning things around and Bader providing elite defense in center field and great offense at the plate, made the decision to platoon Castellanos in right field a lot easier.
In September, since becoming a part of the Phillies' new-look platoon, Castellanos is hitting .280 with a .736 OPS. Still not worth the $20 million he's making this season, but far better than the production he had in the month before this platoon.
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The Phillies' new-look outfield, with Bader as the everyday center fielder and the corners platooning, has been a huge revelation for the Phillies. It's allowed Kepler, Marsh, Wilson, and Castellanos to have better matchups at the plate.
It's also improved the defense and opens the door to the Phillies having solid bench bats ready to come into the game late for a platoon advantage or a defensive replacement for Castellanos if needed.
The original plan the Phillies had at the deadline made sense at the time, as Castellanos, while struggling, still was a .266 hitter with a solid .738 OPS. His poor defense was a huge deterrent, but he was still decent enough offensively.
But after his August struggles, the Phillies have switched to their current outfield platoon in left and right field. It's the move the Phillies needed to make, and it's helped lead to the Phillies clinching the NL East for the second straight season, and the first team to clinch their division in 2025.
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