The Philadelphia Phillies have to make a choice about prospect Justin Crawford and which outfield position he will occupy. All signs point to Crawford being on the Phillies 2026 Opening Day roster. Crawford could have played a role for the 2025 Phillies, but the team did not call him up this season. This will lead to the team needing to decide which outfield position Crawford will play. Matt Gelb of The Athletic has noted on multiple occasions that there are internal and external disagreements over where Crawford fits long term. The most likely positions for Crawford are left field or center field. Crawford is naturally a center fielder but is not a fully developed fielder yet. That is why moving Crawford to a corner outfield position is under consideration.
With Nick Castellanos not expected to be on the 2026 Phillies right field will be open most likely. However, Crawford has not played right field in the minor leagues. The Phillies will need to add at least one right-handed bat this offseason to replace Castellanos. Furthermore, Harrison Bader has a mutual option. Bader will probably opt out making him a free agent and if he does not re-sign with the Phillies center field is wide open. Unless something drastically changes Max Kepler will not be back with the Phillies in 2026 either. Crawford will effectively be taking the spot Kepler had on the 26-man and 40-man roster for the 2025 Phillies on the 2026 team. It is worth noting that Crawford is a left-handed hitter.
Phillies Have A Choice Of Where Prospect Plays In Outfield
Minor League Outfield Experience
In the minor leagues Crawford has primarily played center field. Crawford has played 251 minor league games, including 248 starts, in center field across four levels. Additionally, Crawford made 30 appearances, including 29 starts, in Triple-A during the 2025 season. It is noteworthy that the Phillies did not have Crawford play a corner outfield spot until reaching Triple-A. To add Crawford exclusively playing left field as opposed to a mix of both corner spots is telling. While some scenarios set up Crawford playing right field for the 2026 Phillies that does not seem to be in the cards. Crawford being in center field from the get-go also maximizes the positional flexibility the Phillies will have this offseason from a roster construction standpoint.
Offseason Implications Of This Decision
As Gelb wrote having Crawford in center field gives the Phillies an option to have Brandon Marsh be in a left field platoon. An even better idea is trading Marsh and re-tooling the outfield. If the Phillies trade Marsh and re-sign Bader that would put Crawford in left field with Bader in center field. Ultimately it is kind of a two-in-one decision. Bader staying means putting Crawford in a corner outfield spot. Committing to Crawford in center field makes it harder to re-sign Bader in some ways. If Bader leaves Bryce Harper might need to move back to the outfield to get a right-handed bat that will actually help the lineup. While they should try to keep Bader, it might be a better long-term decision to commit to Crawford in center field.
Main Photo Credits: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The post Phillies Have A Key Choice To Make Regarding Outfield Prospect appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.