{"id":111784,"date":"2025-08-02T01:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T01:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/111784\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T01:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T01:58:09","slug":"harrison-bader-arrives-but-sits-as-phillies-delay-major-outfield-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/111784\/","title":{"rendered":"Harrison Bader arrives, but sits as Phillies delay major outfield decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Rescued from the raging fire sale in Minnesota, Harrison Bader stepped into a pennant race Friday afternoon with a locker in the middle of the Phillies clubhouse and a nice, new number \u2014 2 \u2014 on his back. He was the lone offensive reinforcement acquired by the Phillies<\/a> at a frenzied trade deadline.<\/p>\n

He was not in the lineup. Asked if he knew what his role would be with the Phillies, Bader answered wryly, \u201cUhh, probably going to play some outfield.\u201d Everyone laughed.<\/p>\n

But there are legitimate questions about how the Phillies will construct their outfield in the immediate and later on. The plan, for now, as manager Rob Thomson described it, calls for two platoons in center field and left field. The Phillies will face alternating righty and lefty starters for the next six games. Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler will play against the righties. Bader and probably Weston Wilson will play against the lefties.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor six days,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cAnd then once we get to that point, we\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a curious decision, given that Bader has enjoyed a better season than any of the Phillies\u2019 current outfielders. The Phillies targeted him at the deadline because he\u2019s an exceptional defender and has made adjustments to lean into his pull-side power. That has resulted in success against lefties and righties this season.<\/p>\n

The Phillies optioned Johan Rojas to Triple A. He\u2019ll play regularly there; most of his time will be spent in the corner outfield spots because the organization believes Justin Crawford needs as much development time as possible in center field. Crawford, according to team sources, remains in play for a promotion.<\/p>\n

But the entire situation is muddled. There was a robust debate Thursday night and Friday morning in the front office and the manager\u2019s office about how the outfield should look moving forward. It makes sense for Bader to play, especially given that he is their best outfield defender. He has hit. The Phillies do not have a regular outfielder who has hit and fielded well consistently in 2025.<\/p>\n

One of Dave Dombrowski\u2019s tenets is not to influence lineup decisions. The veteran executive has said it\u2019s the manager\u2019s job. For now, the front office will defer to Thomson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, he\u2019s going to play a lot,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cThe lineup will be Topper\u2019s decision, of course. We\u2019re happy to get him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomson, essentially, is delaying major decisions with his plan. It\u2019s a decision that runs counter to what the Phillies did last summer upon acquiring Austin Hays. He profiled as a platoon player, but Thomson said Hays deserved a chance to be an everyday outfielder when he arrived.<\/p>\n

Bader\u2019s .432 slugging percentage against righties would be tied for fourth on the current Phillies. It\u2019s higher than any of their current outfielders. Isn\u2019t there an inclination not to platoon Bader?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, there is,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cBut the way it is for the next six days, it works out pretty well for everybody. But I can see him playing against right-handed pitching as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kepler has hit .205\/.306\/.366 against righties this season. He is 5-for-33 with one extra-base hit since the All-Star break. \u201cWell, I mean, he\u2019s been swinging the bat a lot better,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have many numbers because he\u2019s hitting the ball right at people.\u201d Kepler\u2019s 89.3 mph average exit velocity in July is his lowest in any month this season, although he\u2019s averaged 96 mph on his batted balls this week.<\/p>\n

Maybe that has swayed the manager.<\/p>\n

Team sources described a fluid situation. In six days, the team may settle on a regular outfield that has Marsh in left and Bader in center. But there\u2019s another scenario where the Phillies summon Crawford, stick him in left field, and open a conversation about Nick Castellanos\u2019 playing time in right.<\/p>\n

Entering Friday, Castellanos had a 62-point difference in OPS between lefties (.782) and righties (.720). Castellanos believes he is an everyday player and has pushed back at being removed, even for defensive purposes. He has batted in the middle of the lineup for most of the season and produced, so a change could feel extreme. It\u2019s at least a consideration.<\/p>\n

For now, the Phillies have improved the outfield options, which puts more emphasis on production. If Kepler cannot see results from the hard-hit balls, he\u2019d lose playing time to Bader. If Marsh or Castellanos struggles, the Phillies could be compelled to bring Crawford.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think he\u2019s ready to play at the big-league level,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cWe could bring him up. If we do bring him, he needs to play a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Bader, the Phillies acquired one of the better outfielders who was dealt at the deadline. It was not a robust group. Ram\u00f3n Laureano was a consideration. The others traded were Miguel Andujar, Alex Call, Randal Grichuk, Cedric Mullins, James Outman, Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez, Austin Slater and Mike Yastrezemski.<\/p>\n

The Phillies were interested in Cleveland\u2019s Steven Kwan, but no one met the Guardians\u2019 high asking price. Had the Phillies not landed closer Jhoan Duran<\/a>, their primary target, they could have pivoted to a more aggressive offer for Kwan.<\/p>\n

Instead, they went for a marginal upgrade in Bader. And he is an upgrade, so long as he plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cTopper constructs the lineup the way he does,\u201d Bader said. \u201cBut my intention is to go out there and play my brand of baseball. Just be myself. It\u2019s really the only thing I know how to do, both on and off the field. I\u2019m just going to help this team win. I\u2019ve been injected into a playoff race. All the notions of ego and me and my playing time, that\u2019ll go out the window. I\u2019m here to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo of Bader: Matt Blewett \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Rescued from the raging fire sale in Minnesota, Harrison Bader stepped into a pennant race Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":111785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,2083,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-111784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114956697801812744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}