Phillies Sign Outfielder Max Kepler To One-Year Deal
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Phillies have a new outfielder.
Former Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler has agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract, according to Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki. The deal is still pending a physical.
The 31-year-old outfielder has spent his entire 10-year career with the Twins, where he predominantly played right field. As of now, with Nick Castellanos still on the team, he will likely shift to left field, a position in which he’s never played professionally.
Kepler is coming off a rough 2024 campaign, in which he hit eight home runs, recorded 42 RBIs, had 93 hits, a .253 average, and a .682 OPS in only 105 games. His best season came back in 2019 when he hit a career-high 36 home runs and 132 hits while also recording a .855 OPS and finishing with a 4.0 WAR. He also finished 20th in MVP voting that season.
While this wasn’t the shiny flashy move that Phillies fans hoped for, Kepler brings skills to Philadelphia that will help. He is an outstanding defender, a skill that the Phillies often overlook. He led the league in Outs Above Assists in right field over the last decade and has a career .993 fielding percentage which is just above the league average. Moving to Citizens Bank Park could also help Kepler as a smaller dimension stadium may help improve his home run hitting issue.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
