…which is the worst part?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Philadelphia Phillies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Let’s start with the survey.
We can all see with our own two eyes that the outfield has been an issue this year. Their free agent addition, Max Kepler, has disappointed and been relegated to a platoon role. The center field position has been played as a platoon all season long and really doesn’t show any signs of stopping. That puts the team in a dilemma this trade season where they really should be finding upgrades at two outfield spots, yet finding those upgrades is proving harder than anticipated. It’s probably best that they really focus on adding someone that can play along with Kepler in left field and upgrading at that spot and leave center field alone.
Or…
It’s probably past the period where Johan Rojas is in need of getting playing time. The simple fact when evaluating him is that he is not a major league quality hitter. His OPS has dropped each season since his debut and truly shows no signs of improvement. No amount of bunting is going to convince anyone that he deserves equal playing time as Brandon Marsh. Since June 1, Rojas has hit .179/.220/.205 in 43 plate appearances. It’s a small sample size, but it’s likely enough that we can say with a certain amount of fact that he simply is not good.
In that same time period, Marsh has hit .313/.360/.438 in 90 plate appearances. While it is also a small sample size (and mostly in situations where he has the platoon advantage), he’s demonstrated that he is the better option for the team in terms of offensive production. It’s a cherry picking piece of data analysis, of course. We know that Marsh still struggles to hit the ball against left handed pitching (.235/.341/.324 vs. LHP in 2025), but those numbers are actually better when comparing them to what he has done in his career(.218/.283/.307 career vs. LHP). If there have been real markers of improvement Marsh has shown this year against left handers, the team should be running with it and trying for every ounce of offensive help they can muster.
At a trade deadline where most of the focus is going to be put on helping the bullpen (deservedly so), the team will have limited resources to make changes to two outfield positions, let alone one. If they only going to worry about helping that bullpen, they’re probably counting on better hitting from the players that are currently on the roster. One way might be to simply let center field continue to be held in Marsh’s grasp, regardless of who is on the mound. It’s not as if Rojas has shown that he deserves it based on what he has done this year at the plate.