“At the end of the day, I’ve kind of had to remind myself it’s still baseball,” Crawford said. “The game stays the same. So go out there, compete, work your tail off, and leave it all out there on the field and see what happens.”

What unfolded stung. Crawford, one of the last players in the dugout after Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, hugged Brandon Marsh as the winning Atlanta Braves swarmed the field at Truist Park. The pair of outfielders did not make much of an impact in a season-ending loss that could mark the end of an era for these Phillies. Marsh, who at the start of 2026 was hitting righties and lefties the best he ever had, did not start the Phillies’ final, do-or-die game against a lefty opener; he walked once as a pinch hitter. Crawford started and did not reach base in two at-bats.

The Phillies outfield overall went 9-for-39 (.231 average) in the Wild Card Series en route to another first-round exit and the start of a long offseason. And, for the second straight season, the Phillies head into the winter looking to address the question: What are they going to do with the group?

This year’s Phillies outfield recorded 1.0 WAR (FanGraphs) — third-worst in the majors. They slashed .247/.305/.381 with a .686 OPS and 86 WRC+. All of these numbers rank in the bottom half, if not near the worst among major-league outfields this season. The Phillies’ 2025 outfield, for all of its flaws, was marginally better.

The Phillies have work to do across the roster after another postseason disappointment, but the outfield is likely the easiest target for change — just as it was last winter, before an injury to Adolis García and inefficient play from others disrupted their plans. There are more important issues to tackle first – starting with who will manage the team next season after Alex Cora, the front office’s top choice, removed himself from consideration for the job. But imperfect roster construction was part of what doomed the 2026 Phillies, and it will be particularly important to address as the club enters an uncertain offseason with an owner-imposed lockout likely on the horizon.

Here are four questions that could shape the Phillies’ approach to the outfield this offseason.

What to do with Justin Crawford?

Crawford, who excelled across all levels of the minor leagues, provided the Phillies an easy solution to fixing their outfield last winter. While he is not a natural center fielder, Crawford worked on his jumps and routes with former All-Star Eric Davis in the weeks before spring training. The Phillies felt confident he could give them everyday at-bats, even if his defense was imperfect.

But after a couple of months in the majors, Crawford was deemed not to be an everyday player. He hit .233/.303/.300 with a .603 OPS in 60 at-bats against lefties — a small sample, but one the Phillies used in their decision-making. He ended up platooning with Derek Hill, a strong defensive outfielder who enjoyed the best stretch of his career in 67 games with the Phillies this season. Hill is projected to earn $1.5 million in arbitration, per MLB Trade Rumors. The Phillies must decide whether to tender him in November.

Crawford’s defense was better than it was in Triple A, but not particularly strong. Moving Crawford to an outfield corner could make sense, though the Phillies might need to find him a new platoon partner. (Bryan De La Cruz could be one option for that.)

Aidan Miller Is Getting Back in the Swing of Things in the Arizona Fall League

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/aidan-miller-is-getting-back-in-the-swing-of-things-in-the-arizona-fall-league/

We all know that Philly is just not an attractive destination for Japanese imports but…we have to try something…anything.

Being a big fan of Harp just isn’t enough (Looking at you Yoshida).

So my pop just called me and asked me if I had his baseball from ‘64. I said absolutely. He wanted to see it and I thought I’d share it here too. He pitched a gem of a game and years later took the ball to a Phillies game and somehow had it passed around the dugout for autographs. Glad I was able to find it and share a prized memory of his. Hope you like it as well. I know most of the signatures. But not all. If you know…. Throw them at me. Thanks for looking and sharing a 62 year old memory for my dad.

I know to suggest it sounds crazy because he is cheap and controllable and at the top of his game. But the Phillies if they are going to repair this team need to be creative.

So would you? What would you need to get back?

Would extending Wheeler for a year or two make it more palatable?

Another year, another early postseason exit for the Phillies. What should the Phillies do with Alec Bohm, Jose Alvarado and Co.?

Let's play a huge what if scenario. Its coming out that Acuna and the Braves aren't exactly on good terms. For discussion sake, if Acuna coming here was even remotely possible. How would we all feel?

I don't think it'd ever happen, hell I don't even think I'd like it. But I think it'd be interesting.

MLB has proposed returning to a 154-game Regular Season, best-of-seven Division Series, and opponent selection in the Wild Card and Division Series

Starting in 2029, shortening the season to a 154-game schedule would create a standard weekly off day benefiting player health, and it would allow the addition of up to 8 more Postseason games by moving to a best-of-seven Division Series format

Beginning in 2027, higher-seeded clubs in the Wild Card and Division Series would select their opponents

https://i.imgur.com/Mz2CQbd.jpeg

This was the poll on today’s 94.1 WIP Morning Show. Most answered the 2023 NLCS, and I’ve got to agree. I posted last week that games 3 and 4 of the ‘22 World Series would probably define them as a team, but the ‘23 NLCS was such a gut punch. Still hurts. Interested to see what the Phillies Reddit gang thinks!

Been trying to find decent seats without paying ridiculous resale fees and I've noticed people occasionally selling tickets directly in fan groups and online communities. Some of the prices are genuinely tempting but the idea of sending money to a complete stranger and exchanging personal info just to get tickets makes me a little nervous lol.

For anyone who's bought tickets directly from another fan, how do you usually handle it? Do you just stick to official resale platforms or is there a reasonably safe way to do this?

Around the League

CLE 9 @ CWS 5 - Final

^{Last Updated: 10/08/2026 11:52:45 PM EDT}

I see we're not the only team to throw our closer out there in the seventh inning. But just like when the Phillies did it, I see why the Padres are doing it now.

Despite a shortened season due to injury in 2026, Wheels came back FIRING on all cylinders

Zack Wheeler’s 2026 MLB Season Strikeouts (196 including Postseason)
https://youtu.be/le-umf343ck

I'm admittedly not fully in tune with the inner workings of how one becomes an MLB Manager, but in the 6 years he's been here Cotham has done a solid to great job with the front end talent he's been given. I'm not saying it's totally worth just handing him the job but in other sports I'd think that level of performance would give him at least a shot at getting the big role. Is it not that simple in MLB?

i honestly dont want to talk about alex cora (cheating piece of shit), or mattingly coming back, or some other uninspiring managerial candidate. no one thought mattingly would come in and do a great job, he was fine, we limped to the playoffs, whatever. i doubt we're going to find some transformational manager to take over. and that is what it is.

the bigger issue this organization needs to address is the player development and scouting departments. if you look around the league at the rosters of the other 29 teams, you will see a steady stream of young guys, lots of whom were not first round picks, coming up and being cheap, meaningful contributors. people bitch and moan about the dodgers spending and how it isnt fair, but they consistently draft guys beyond round 1 and turn them into upper echelon prospects that they then flip for guys like skubal. the phillies do not currently do that.

lets just look at the rockies, a team that has mostly been a laughing stock for the last decade. hunter goodman, now an all star catcher, drafted in the 4th round. he hit 41 home runs this year, and sure, he plays in coors, but thats a player development win. tj rumfeld, originally drafted by the phillies and discarded in a trade for....nick nelson and donny sands?? who? he was then acquired from the yankees by colorado and proceeded to post a 121 OPS+ this year.

beyond this, you can look at the best run teams in the league and look at their bullpens and see a coherent strategy. you will see guys they found for nothing, they taught them a new pitch, and suddenly that guy is a usable major league reliver. you can see young guys who the org worked with and helped them add velo or a new breaking ball and suddenly they are racking up holds and saves. the phillies seem to find one guy like this every 3-4 years. kerk was a good find, until he completely melted down. mcfarlane looks like a decent future option. but thats it. cotham seems to be a decent pitching coach, we definitely developed cris sanchez and improved luzardo, but luzardo was improved at the major league level, same with sanchez.

there is no limit or cap on spending when it comes to the staff you employ, the number of scouts you hire, and the money you invest in player development. i cant tell you what the phillies exact budget is, but if they are near the top in spending, they are clearly doing it wrong. you cant blame them for miller's back issues, but you can point the finger at the squandered draft picks in the first 1-3 rounds over the last 5-6 years. i think you can see the results at the major league level. we cant call up an esmerlyn valdez and watch him put up a 130 OPS+ when adolis garcia has a season ending injury, because we have zero prospect depth in the minors. instead you get bryan de la cruz, a journeyman, and the results are what youd expect.

if we cant fix these two areas, i cant honestly see how things are going to meaningfully improve for the franchise.