#philadelphia-phillies

#philadelphia-phillies

The left-handed hitting veteran has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the banned substance Epitrenbolone, which violates Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. With this suspension, should Kepler sign with a team this offseason, he will miss the first 80 games as well as be ineligible for the postseason. Should Kepler go unsigned this winter, the suspension does not start on Opening Day; it begins when he signs with a new team, should that happen post Opening Day.

Davidson, 30 in March, pitched in the majors from 2020 to 2024. He logged 129 2/3 innings for the Braves, Angels, Royals and Orioles, allowing 5.76 earned runs per nine. He had better minor league numbers in that span, tossing 219 Triple-A frames with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 24.5% of batters faced against an 8% walk rate while also getting grounders on about half the balls in play he allowed.

It's a bit surprising to see Pop command a big league deal. He bounced around during the 2025 season. He opened the year with the Blue Jays but was released shortly after Opening Day. Pop got to the big leagues for four appearances with the Mariners and pitched one time as a member of the Mets. He allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in just 6 2/3 MLB innings. That pushed his career earned run average to 4.88 over 162 1/3 frames spanning five seasons.

The Phillies are likely to have a regular outfield of Adolis García in right, Justin Crawford in center and Brandon Marsh in left. Nick Castellanos is still on the roster but reporting throughout the winter has indicated the Phils are planning to move on from him before the season starts. That could be via a trade but he won't have a ton of value due to his declining performance and $20MM left on the final year of his contract.

That's a sensible target, given the current setup. García should have right field spoken for with Brandon Marsh in left. The Phils want to give Justin Crawford a chance to take over the center field job. Both Marsh and Crawford are lefties. Marsh has notable career splits, with a .213/.278/.303 line and 61 wRC+ against southpaws in his career. Crawford actually fared slightly better against lefties in the minors this year but in a tiny sample of just 91 plate appearances against southpaws.

Ketel Marte's name continues to pop up on the offseason rumor mill as teams check in with the D-backs on the star second baseman. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen has already plainly indicated that a trade is "unlikely," and reports out of Arizona generally suggest that the Snakes are loath to part with Marte but will at least hear interested parties out as a matter of due diligence.

De La Cruz showed promise early in his career with Miami, hitting .269/.318/.430 with 18 homers, 27 doubles and a pair of triples in his first 574 plate appearances from 2021-22. He popped 19 homers in 2023, but poor glovework and an OBP barely north of .300 made him a roughly replacement-level player. De La Cruz had a better start in '24, connecting on 18 long balls through his first 454 turns at the plate.

Peguero was once a touted young infielder whom the Pirates acquired from the D-backs in exchange for Starling Marte. He's a former top-100 prospect who was once viewed as a possible shortstop of the future in Pittsburgh. Peguero's bat has never come around, however. He's seen action in four big league seasons but has mustered only a .227/.278/.368 slash line in 315 turns at the plate.

As my friend Dana and I stood next to the giant balloon arch and let someone take our photo, people around us were feeling optimistic about "winning it all" and "getting a ring." Dana and I talked about how happy we were to be back, how good it felt to return to the ballpark we spend all summer in each summer, how fresh the grass smelled, and how grateful we were that the long offseason was over.

ANDERSON: It's 0 and 1. Kerkering trying to send this one to the 12th. No balls and a strike. Pages breaks his bat, Kerkering gotta find it. Throws to the plate! Oh my goodness! He throws it away! And the Dodgers have won! The Dodgers win and they are moving on to the NLCS in a most improbable finish! Pandemonium in Dodger Stadium! And your heart breaks for Orion Kerkering. The Dodgers ecstatic. This game ends in the cruelest way for the Phillies.

The Phillies did not send their best lineup out there on Wednesday night. They needed just one win or one Dodgers loss to wrap up a playoff bye, and there were five games left in the season. It was going to happen; they did not really seem to be in a rush. Similarly, the top seed in the NL is almost certainly out of reach.