Aug 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Max Kepler (17) shakes hands with Dusty Wathan while running the bases on his two RBI homer run against the Baltimore Orioles during the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Rob Thomson was asked before Tuesday evening's game why Max Kepler was starting for the Phillies in left field, despite the recently-acquired Harrison Bader hitting a three-run home run in Monday's blowout win over the Baltimore Orioles.
"Well, because I promised these guys the first six days we're gonna platoon, [that's] one," Thomson said. "I know Bader's got good numbers against him, but Kepler is 1-for-4 with a homer too. I'm gonna stay to my word."
In what's been an otherwise extremely frustrating season, Kepler rewarded Thomson with one of his few standout performances in red pinstripes in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the O's.
Kepler followed up a Brandon Marsh RBI double with a two-run home run off of Baltimore starter Dean Kremer in the bottom of the second inning:
Max Kepler got just enough of this one for a two-run homer! 🇩🇪
(Via @aokstott)
pic.twitter.com/lta9zZpeo7
Two innings later, Kepler doubled to lead off the top of the fourth, later scoring on an RBI double by Bryson Stott, who himself had a nice all-around night:
Max Kepler has 2️⃣ extra-base hits tonight already. 🇩🇪
(Via @aokstott)
pic.twitter.com/2AhWxlUYcu
According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, it was Kepler's first game with two extra-base hits since the home-opener on March 31. Kepler finished the evening 2-for-4.
Kepler has put together one of the more unproductive seasons from a Phillies (mostly) regular in recent memory. He entered the day hitting .200 with a .645 OPS and minus-0.1 WAR, according to FanGraphs. He's adjusted well to playing left field after spending most of his career in right field, but the lack of consistent thump has led to boos and justified speculation about whether Kepler would be designated for assignment in recent weeks.
For his part, Kepler says he hasn't paid attention to that speculation.
"No, like I said, I just focus on what I can control," Kepler said. "And to think about all that stuff in the years in the past, it would just stress me out more. So I just focus on my work and my teammates in here."
One of those teammates, the aforementioned Marsh who added an insurance run with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth inning — was complimentary of Kepler after the game in a way that only he could be. Kepler's a gangster," Marsh said. "He's gonna show up and compete every day. And today was big for us."
Brandon Marsh: “Kepler is a gangster.”
— Tim Kelly (@timkellysports.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 9:36 PM
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Still, it's evident that after spending the first decade of his career in a smaller market in Minnesota, Kepler has pressed at times in his first season in Philadelphia. He even acknowledged that he has allowed some of the valleys of this season to bother him.
"To be honest, it does get to me," Kepler said. "I'm an over-thinker. [I was] even before I started playing this game. I try to analyze what I did right or wrong in the past and what's to come in the future. And it takes away from the present. I have to remind myself, or have my support team remind me that I'm in a beautiful place, in a beautiful opportunity and to just enjoy the moment regardless of rough patches."
Was Max Kepler unsure if he would be with the Phillies beyond the trade deadline?
— Tim Kelly (@timkellysports.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 9:55 PM
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One nice game from Kepler hardly clinched him finishing the season with the Phillies, but perhaps it bought him a few extra days.
Ultimately, this may come down to how aggressive the Phillies are willing to be with Justin Crawford, who is hitting .325 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If he's promoted, Kepler almost certainly won't remain with the team. The Phillies only want to promote Crawford if the 21-year-old is going to play every day, though. If the Phillies believe some combination of Kepler, Bader, Marsh and Nick Castellanos can suffice in the outfield as they try to win a World Series, perhaps they'll continue to let Crawford season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and promote him early in 2026.
In late-June, Kepler expressed frustration with the fact that he was being platooned in left field, saying he had been under the impression he would play every day in that spot when he signed. But as the pennant race begins to heat up, the 32-year-old said he's now bought in on doing whatever it takes to help the team win.
"Early in the year, I was new to the whole platoon thing," Kepler acknowledged. "And at this point, I've accepted it. Like I said, it's a collective thing moving forward. We wanna win ball games, and I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to be a part of this puzzle. And I think everyone in that so-called platoon is accepting of that and understanding of that, and we're doing it together as a unit."
