What the Phillies outfield projects to look like the rest of the decade

When Jayson Werth left the Philadelphia Phillies organization at the conclusion of the 2010 season, it was the beginning of an issue that no one in the organization or fandom expected: a lack of consistency from the Phillies outfield. Whether it be Odubel Herrera, Mickey Moniak, Brandon Marsh, or Adolis Garcia.

The organization has spent the better part of over 15 years now trying to build a solid outfield, and this season is no different. However, have no fear, there is help that can be and maybe will be on the way through the rest of the decade that will set the Phillies up with a core out there, if successful, rivaling the legendary outfield core of Shane Victorino and Werth.

Where Are The Phillies Right Now?

Heading into the 2026 season, the outfield continues to look like the biggest flaw on a Phillies team looking to reach its third straight NL East title. The only outfielder entering this season that also entered opening day last year on the roster is Marsh, who, from what it sounds like from Dombrowski, will be platooning in left field with Otto Kemp. Kemp will more than likely be a lock to be a part of his first MLB Opening Day roster at a position he hadn’t received regular innings at until late last season.

In centerfield, the Phillies will be rewarding former 2022 first-round selection Justin Crawford with the starting job. Crawford, since being drafted, has done nothing but produce at a high level, batting well over .300, stealing an elite number of bases, and adding stellar defense at both center and left field. The concern with Crawford is one, his high groundball rate, and two, he’s a Phillies prospect, and those have not been very successful, for the most part, in the red pinstripes the last 15 years.

Finally, manning the right field slot, looking for a bounce-back campaign, is Adolis Garcia. Garcia has upside, a powerful bat playing in a very hitter-friendly ballpark, a successful playoff experience (including a 2023 ALCS MVP), and much better defensive abilities compared to last year’s starting right fielder, Nick Castellanos, who is said to be moved but could be stuck on the Phillies bench come opening day. Garcia runs the risk of continuing Dave Dombrowski’s lack of luck when signing older talent to 1-year deals; hopefully, this signing finally sticks.

What To Look Forward To

While some might look at the position the Phillies outfield is in and throw their hands up, saying this is terrible, there’s nothing we can do. There are, however, answers, albeit answers that require patience, but patience is a virtue, so it’s good to be patient.

Over the course of the rest of the decade, there are going to be several intriguing prospects that will continue to develop in the Phillies’ farm system and valuable non-bank-breaking outfielders that will hit the free agent market that the Phillies can look to be core members of the outfield.

Justin Crawford

While this is a bit of a cop out answer since Crawford, barring injury, is going to be the center fielder come opening day in March, he is still a 22-year-old who has yet to take a swing at the Major League level. This isn’t much different than what was stated earlier, but when you look at Crawford’s numbers through each level of the minors, he’s produced. Overall, in his professional career, he’s batted to a slashline of .322/.385/.446, to say the least. That’s some pretty good numbers that seem more than likely producible at the major league level.

Crawford’s biggest issue right now is his absurdly high ground ball rate; however, nothing but pure speculation is assuming that ground ball is going to be a crushing issue for Crawford. After all, the Minor Leagues are still professional baseball; it’s not the case that Crawford is hitting weak grounders to terrible fielders and beating them out, but once he gets to the majors, the fielders are far and away better; that is simply not how fielding development works from level to level.

Dante Nori

Nori was the surprise 1st round selection by the Phillies back in 2024, but quietly, in his first full professional season, produced solidly. The now No. 6 overall prospect in the Phillies farm system moved through three levels throughout the 2025 season, 109 of his 125 games coming at low-A, in which he batted .262, with a one-hundred-point jump in OBP for a .363 clip.

Nori is an athletic outfielder who has a reputation for having a very advanced approach for his age, albeit an older age, given he was drafted out of high school (almost 20 at the time of the draft). While his numbers don’t jump off the page the way a Crawford does, Nori still played at 3 levels of professional baseball in his first full season as a professional, and has the tools to continue making big jumps like that to become a valuable 1st round outfielder for the Phillies.

Francisco Renteria

Renteria was signed on January 15th by the Phillies out of the international free agent market for $4 million. Renteria gets a lot of hype surrounding him because of being the No. 3-ranked prospect in the international market, his contract being the most expensive in franchise history for the Phillies in this market, and his tools.

Renteria has the physical gifts, being 6’3 and 216 lbs at only 17 years old, MLB’s scouting grades have him as a well-rounded player with above average hitting tools at 60 hit and 65 power, as well as tacking on a 60 grade fielding and speed. Renteria has so much talent in him that he is already being compared to the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, Konnor Griffin, a player who looks to be a 5-tool franchise talent for the Pirates.

Gabriel Rincones Jr.

Rincones made a name for himself last Spring Training, where he demolished the ball and became one of Dombrowski’s most favored prospects to talk about. Rincones bounced off a successful Spring Training appearance with a solid season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, slashing a decent .240/.370/.430 with a .800 OPS, those numbers are decent numbers period but these numbers are actually less than what they could be, due to being brought down by putrid numbers against left handers where he slashed .107/.215/.107 and a .322 OPS.

However, he ended with really good numbers overall and sneakily stole 21 bases and is solid in the outfield. If the Phillies get sick and tired of Marsh, you have a more powerful version of him in Rincones, and for a team that fans were clammering for change, that might also become very attractive.

Randy Arozarena

Moving on from specific outfield prospects, the 30-year-old former all-star and rookie of the year for the Tampa Bay Rays has spent a solid year and a half with the Seattle Mariners since being traded midway through 2024 from Tampa to Seattle. Arozarena has not reached the highs in certain aspects since his 2020 rookie year and 2021 sophomore season, which doesn’t mean he’s performed poorly since those two seasons. Arozarena has been one of the most underrated outfielders in the majors the whole decade and is coming off a season where he added his second career All-Star appearance and a career high in home runs at 27, a number that came with Arozarena hitting in the least hitter-friendly ballpark in the majors.

Arozarena is in the final year of arbitration, meaning come next offseason, he will be a free agent and on the market for a Phillies team that more than likely will need to look for outfield again next offseason.

Victor Robles

Robles is well known by the Philly faithful, given he debuted and spent 7 1/2 of his 9 Major League seasons as a member of the Washington Nationals. Even as a glove-first player, Robles has put together some very good offensive seasons, including 2024, when he slashed .307/.381/.433. He’s only entering his age 29 season, so he’s a player who is now stepping into his prime and is in the same boat as Arozarena, playing in the least hitter-friendly ballpark out in Seattle.

Seiya Suzuki

Suzuki, entering 2027, will be turning 32, so he certainly would fit the older player archetype mold the Phillies have developed. However, he, like Arozarena, is one of the most underrated performers in the league and is sneakily coming off receiving MVP votes and clubbing 32 home runs. He has hit an .800 OPS or better in every season he’s played, except his rookie campaign in 2022, where he hit to a .770 OPS. Suzuki is a player who certainly upgrades almost every aspect of the outfield, and would finally give the Phillies a Japanese star that they have been in desperate need of.

Bryce Harper

Unsurprisingly, Harper is a potential answer out in the outfield. Harper spent his whole career as an outfielder until he sustained the arm injury that forced him to get Tommy John surgery after the 2022 season. Harper continues to be further removed from the injury and recovery, and that means more and more likely could be available to be moved. He has certainly stated he’s open to making the move back to the outfield, and it opens the door for certain prospects to get a shot in the majors.

The two prospects that look most intriguing to replace Harper at first, if he moves back to the outfield, are Keaton Anthony and Felix Reyes. Reyes is coming off a season where he batted .331 with a .924 OPS in both Double- and Triple-A. He’ll more than likely start the year with the Iron Pigs and could be knocking on the door of a Major League opportunity. Anthony is coming off a season where he batted .323 with an .862 OPS, also across both Double- and Triple-A. Anthony, while playing fewer games, did have better overall success at both levels, while Reyes crushed the ball at Double-A but got a small taste of Lehigh Valley, where he did not reach the same level. Both players are right-handed hitting 24-year old first basemen with very impressive hitting abilities. If these players continue to produce and show that they need to be in the majors, Harper might be looking back to the right field position.

Overall, the solutions the Phillies have in the outfield are very contingent on minor league development. That is a general philosophy question for how to build a team. The Phillies are luckily still a very competitive team, even with a lot of ‘holes’ in their lineup and historically an inability to build the outfield. Given how many names were written about here, it seems more likely than not that the Phillies get good benefit from some of these players over the course of the rest of this decade and into the next.

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