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At the 25-game mark of the season, the Philadelphia Phillies hold a winning record but face some cause for concern.
After winning just one playoff game before being eliminated by the rival New York Mets in 2024, the Phillies seemed to carry some of the same shortcomings into this season after they were swept by the Mets this week.
One of those persistent issues has been a lack of offensive production from the outfielders outside of Nick Castellanos. And one of those outfielders might now be facing his final chance to earn a spot in the lineup.
“We like Brandon Marsh a lot, but competition is what makes the world go round,” Phillies president Dave Dombrowski said after the team moved him to Triple-A for a “reset” following a rough start to the season, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. “I know Marsh is better than this. But he’s got to go and do it… We hope that he gets a reset because we know he’s a good hitter.”
After joining the Phillies via trade in 2022, Marsh has started a majority of the Phillies’ games in the outfield. But a .095 batting average and a hamstring injury to start this season might have been the final straw in his competition to stay in the batting order.
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Instead, the team seems to be leaning toward Johan Rojas in center field. If Marsh cannot turn things around, he might have permanently lost his spot.
“Not to be overdramatic, but it feels like an inflection point,” Lauber added.
As the team looks to build on a record that stands at just over .500 and march toward the World Series championship that has eluded them, Marsh might have to watch from the bench.
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Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
English (US)