It took one day for the Phillies to prove their trade deadline was a failure

The Philadelphia Phillies made a couple notable moves at the MLB trade deadline, swinging a blockbuster deal for Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Durán before subsequently acquiring his Twins teammate, outfielder Harrison Bader.

While this move was met with an appropriate level of skepticism, Bader is a good player and a significant upgrade over Philadelphia's current options. He's swinging the bat especially well over the past month, which means he is hitting his stride just in time for the stretch run.

Bader is a defensive stud in centerfield and by far the most productive bat in the Phillies' outfield depth chart. He has a .778 OPS and 114 wRC+, both of which dramatically outstrip Max Kepler (81 wRC+), Brandon Marsh (101 wRC+), Nick Castellanos (103 wRC+) and Otto Kemp (91 wRC+). So why the hell isn't Bader in the lineup for Friday's showdown with a very good Detroit Tigers team?

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Phillies needed one game to completely fumble the Harrison Bader trade

The Phillies will start Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh in left and center, respectively, on Friday. Not because Bader has not shown up yet. Not because they're waiting to get him up to speed after the trade. But because Rob Thomson, in a stroke of pure insanity, has decided to platoon Marsh and Bader in center for at least six games.

Here's what Dave Dombrowski told reporters after the deadline.

"(Kepler is) playing left field for us at this time. He's actually been swinging the bat a little bit better, particularly versus right-handed pitching. But he's part of our roster at this time."

What are we doing here? This is a World Series-level team that just made an all-out trade for a reliever, but refuses to embrace the clear upgrade in centerfielder. Bader has out-hit and out-defended literally every member of the current Phillies outfield this season. He's better against lefties and righties than Kepler. Marsh can slug against righties as we know, but he's a ghost against left-handed pitching and he's not exactly a world-beater either way.

Kepler was a 30-plus home run threat in his prime, but he has a .675 OPS so far this season and he has not approached that level of production in years. Why are the Phillies holding onto a fantasy?

Phillies need to cut the nonsense and start Harrison Bader full-time

Turning your big trade deadline addition into a sporadic platoon bat would quality as utter incompetence. We don't see other teams slowly working their prime additions into the lineup. Maybe Thomson sees the light after six games, but after how Austin Hays was treated last season — and based on Philadelphia's unwavering support of Kepler throughout 2025, despite his struggles — it's fair to be more than a little concerned about where things are heading.

Bader is a true positive-impact player. The Phillies could've aimed higher, but Bader has the chops on defense and offense to meaningfully improve a bad outfield. But that's only if he's actually on the field regularly. The Phillies should start Bader in center full-time and platoon Marsh and Kemp in left field, ideally DFA'ing Kepler in the process. At the very most, Kepler should be a reserve bat for specific matchups. In reality, it's probably time for the Phillies to consider calling up No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford, who's hitting .325 with an .836 OPS in Triple-A this season.

The Phillies needed more at the deadline than a better platoon option for Brandon Marsh. Bader has the chance to be what the Phillies need, but only if he is utilized to his full potential. Pretending like Kepler can still turn this season around after months of bad production is how the Phillies undermine yet another World Series pursuit.

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