Baseball is back — and so are most of the Phillies.

After a dominating 96-win season in 2025 and a devastating early exit to the eventual World Series champions, the Dodgers, the championship window is still open for the Phils, but for how long?

The Phillies will enter 2026 with the fifth best World Series odds (+1500, via FanDuel). Expectations are still high, as is the level of talent in the clubhouse.

Sticking to their organizational mentality that keeping the window open requires keeping the core together — while also opening up some space for an infusion of young talent — a largely familiar group will be returning to comprise the 26-man roster when camp breaks in March.

As we do every preseason, here's a deep dive into each position on the roster and its outlook heading toward Opening Day. We'll continue with the outfield.

Scouting report

In center field, the Phillies are starting an unproven rookie who has never played a game in the majors. In right, they're going with yet another declining veteran. In left, they're expected to platoon between a veteran left-handed batter who has struggled to hit lefties in his career and a young right-handed hitter who's an infielder by trade.

This is the state of the Phillies' outfield in 2026. It could possibly be the least-imposing outfield among any of the NL contenders.

On the bright side, it's probably no worse than last year's trio of Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler, which combined for a 1.0 WAR. Those three totaled 46 homers and 167 RBI – which is actually 10 homers fewer than Kyle Schwarber's season output and just 35 RBI more than Schwarber's total.

Imagine one player having more homers – by double digits – than the entire outfield of a team that won 96 games and a second straight NL East pennant.

So perhaps there's some reason to believe that having, on paper, one of baseball's worst outfields won't impede the Phillies' chance of bringing home a third straight division pennant and getting back to the World Series.

There's also some encouragement about the subtraction of Castellanos, a disgruntled vet who was released just before position players report to Clearwater despite the club owing him $20 million, and the addition of some new blood, most notably the organization's top outfield prospect in Justin Crawford. 

What Crawford lacks in power – he homered just seven times last year in 440 at bats – he compensates with plus speed and a disciplined eye. Spending the entire year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Crawford slashed .334/.411/.452 and stole 46 bases in 57 attempts, walking 58 times and only striking out 98 times.

The best news is that Crawford, a left-hander who joins a lineup overcrowded with lefties, tore up southpaw pitching last year, with his .376 batting average against lefties about 50 points higher than his average against righties and about 40 points higher than his season average.

Crawford is already off to a good start this spring, with three doubles – including his first at-bat – and a stolen base to go along with a .333/.375/.533 slash line through five games and 16 plate appearances. He'll be given every opportunity this year to lock down the centerfield spot and inject some youth into an otherwise aging outfield.

In right, the Phillies are banking on another one-year mercenary despite past misfires on Kepler, Whit Merrifield, and Jake Cave. At least García was once a fearsome slugger, averaging 32 homers and 99 RBI for the Rangers in a three-year span from 2021-2023, making the All Star game twice and being named MVP of the 2023 ALCS en route to winning a World Series.

But the past two years haven't been kind to the Cuban, who turns 33 today. His batting average was under .230 for each of the past two seasons and his on base percentage – never good during his career – dropped below .285 in both years, just a terribly low stat that can only be compensated with elite home run and RBI production. But García has averaged just 22 homers and 80 RBIs in that span, a major drop-off that can no longer masquerade his ridiculously low average and on base percentage.

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In left, Marsh will be the strong-side platoon, logging the most at-bats as he will start against right-handed pitching. Marsh shook off one of the worst March/April stretches someone can have – he actually went hitless for all of April – to finish with a respectable .280/.342/.443 slash line, along with 11 homers and 43 RBIs. It was actually a better slash line than his 2024 season.

Then there's Otto Kemp, a natural corner infielder in the minors who showed good power and speed at Double-A in 2024 and then ripped up Triple-A last year (16 homers, 67 RBI) to earn a call to the majors when third baseman Alec Bohm moved to first base because of an injury to Bryce Harper. Kemp was recalled later in the season after Bohm went down with an injury.

With eight homers and 28 RBI in 62 at-bats for the Phillies, Kemp showed decent power despite struggling to a .234/.298/.411 slash line. Phillies President Of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has hinted that Kemp dealt with an injury last year without disclosing the injury and has been steadfast in his belief in Kemp, enough to covert him into a corner outfielder who will platoon with Marsh.

Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images

Adolis Garcia (53) and infielder Edmundo Sosa (33) smile during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark.

Phillies season preview
C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | DH | OF | SP | RP | Bench

NL East ranking

Making optics worse for the Phillies is that in two of three outfield spots, other NL East teams have true superstars at the position and also a rising star.

Here's a quick look at 2025 slash lines (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) and homer/RBI production along with slash lines for 2026, and their WAR (wins above replacement) for last season for each outfield spot, starting with left field (all projections via baseballreference.com):

* denotes minor league totals

Harris II, once a promising five-tool Braves prospect who had 19 homers, 64 RBI, and 20 stolen bases as a rookie, has produced double-digit homers and stolen bags in each of his four seasons, but his slash lines have really dipped over the past two seasons and his WAR has dropped each year from his 5.1 rookie season to just 2.2 last year.

Last year was Marsee's first in the majors. He played 55 games for the Marlins and finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting. He was a base-stealing maven in Double- And Triple-A – swiping 40 or more in three consecutive seasons – and showed decent power. He could be in for a breakout season.

Robert Jr., traded to the Mets from the White Sox, hasn't come close to replicating his 38-homer, 80-RBI, 20-stolen base season of 2023, which now looks like an outlier. Robert Jr.'s batting average has been below .225 in each of his past two seasons and his on base percentage has dropped under .300 in that same time frame. He's still a major threat to steal bags, but so is Crawford.

Young gives the Nats some speed and defense in center but very little offense.  

In right field, a bounce-back season from García could make him second-best in the division, but by a wide distance. 

* denotes Triple-A 2025 totals

There's no question that Acuña Jr., when healthy, is the cream of this crop – and a top-10 player in the sport. 

The five-time All Star and 2023 NL MVP came back in late May from an ACL tear – the second of his career, but the opposite knee – and managed to post an even better batting average and on base percentage than his career average, with his slugging percentage just a shade under. 

Acuña Jr. might not steal 73 bases again like he did in 2023 but he swiped nine bags in 10 attempts last year, so you can pencil him in for at least 20 this season.

Caissie came to the Marlins in a trade from the Cubs, who he played 12 games for last year. He's a former Padres second-round pick who showed really good power and plate discipline in Triple A. If he emerges into an impactful starter, the Marlins could make a case for having the best overall outfield in 2026.

Taylor, 31, is probably just holding the fort down until the Mets hand the keys to top position prospect Carson Benge, the 16th-ranked overall prospect, per MLB.com.

Crews, the No. 2 overall pick 2023, broke into the majors in 2024 and has already played more than 100 games with the Nationals. He has struggled to hit and reach base, although he doesn't have an extremely high strikeout rate and he's already swiped 29 bags in 37 attempts. He's got all the tools but might have been rushed to the majors, which means 2026 could be a breakout if he starts to get more comfortable at the plate.

Phillies depth and future

With the top four spots occupied by Crawford, García, Marsh and Kemp, the battle for the fifth spot is between familiar name Johan Rojas and newcomer Pedro León, who played seven games with the Astros in 2024 and struck out 10 times in 21 plate appearances. León is off to a nice start this spring. Rojas has yet to show he can hit consistently in the bigs.

In the pipeline, there's not much with Crawford getting his shot. Dante Nori, a 2024 first-round pick, is the organization's seventh-ranked prospect. Nori tore it up at Single A last year and will probably start this season with Double-A Reading. 

The team likes Gabriel Rincones Jr., a 24-year-old who produced 18 homers and 73 RBI at Lehigh Valley last year, slashing .240/.370/.430. With a good start this season in Triple-A, it's possible Rincones Jr. – the eighth-ranked prospect, one behind Nori – could be in the bigs this season.

In February, the Phillies signed the No. 3 prospect on the international market in Venezuelan outfielder Francisco Renteria. They're very excited about the 6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect, but Renteria is only 17 and several years away. 

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