Phillies’ outfield rotation remains unsettled as Thomson seeks hot hands down the stretch

The Phillies outfield situation is like one of those old carnival games. 

You know the ones -you walk up to a booth with dozens of giant stuffed animals hanging from hooks. To win one, you needed to put your quarter on a random number and then the barker would spin a giant wheel. 

"Round and Round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows," he'd call out. 

You'd sit there in awe, waiting for the leather strap to come for a stop on a specific number and hope, fingers-crossed and all, that it would be your number.

If it wasn't, you'd pop another quarter up onto the board and go through the process all over again. 

And if you were so lucky that it was your number, you were surprised to learn that you couldn't just get the giant teddy bear, but needed to start with a smaller prize first and trade up until you got the one you wanted. 

So, you were determined to get there, and would post another quarter, chasing that ultimate prize. 

That's what Rob Thomson is doing with his outfield. Chasing. Hoping. 

On Wednesday, it was Brandon Marsh's turn to sit. He's used to sitting against lefties, but not against a righty. The Mets were throwing rookie righthander Nolan McLean. 

Max Kepler started in left. Harrison Bader in center. Nick Castellanos in right. 

"I've liked Casty's at bats in the last couple of weeks and Marsh has been in a little bit of a tailspin," Thomson said. "Bader's been hot and Kepler's had some good at bats, so I'm just giving [Marsh] the night and he'll be back in there tomorrow."

It makes sense. If you look at the trends, right now Marsh is trending in the wrong direction and is behind the other three. 

Going back to August 9, when it first came to light that the Phillies were going to rotate four outfielders against righties and include Weston Wilson into the mix against lefties, Marsh has not been nearly as productive as the other three:

• Castellanos - 10-for-51 (.196), .535 OPS, - but 9-for-27 (.333) and a .919 OPS in his last seven games.
• Bader - 15-for-45 (.333), .903 OPS - and 10-for-18 (.556) and a 1.470 OPS in his last six games.
• Kepler - 11-for-31 (.355), .871 OPS 
• Marsh - 7-for-45 (.156), .404 OPS

Marsh did have this double off Kodai Senga on Monday:

Brandon Marsh Double!! pic.twitter.com/6OK1CFMGeq

— cam ! (@aokstott) August 25, 2025

But those types of hits have been too few and far between.

Right now, it seems like Bader deserves a bulk of the playing time, and Kepler should see more time against righties. 

So, it comes down to Castellanos and Marsh, and although both have scuffled going back to when this rotation started, Castellanos has, at least in the recent past, has figured something out that Marsh has not.

But it can all change in a heartbeat. 

Asked if he'd like for three guys to kind of separate themselves to be the go-to trio for the playoffs, Thomson cut off the question. 

"I want five guys to get hot," Thomson said. 

Fair enough. But for Marsh, it's a disappointing stretch considering how hard he worked to overcome a dreadful start to the season. 

Flash back to when he went 0-for-April. Yes, he missed a little bit of time toward the end of the month, but he entered May hitting .095 with a .387 OPS. 

But he did a complete 180, and over the next three months, Marsh was really good. In a span of 75 games, Marsh slashed .314/.371/.486 for an OPS of .856.

He raised his average and OPS to a season-highs of  .278.  and .777 respectively. 

But then this rotation started and it all reverted back to April-level proportions. 

Thomson believes a quick reset ought to do the trick, but the fact is this is like a long horse race and everyone is jockeying for position - Marsh has just ended up stuck on the rail. 

Romano Update

Jordan Romano spoke to reporters for the first time since ending up on the injured list prior to Tuesday's game. 

Romano didn't try to hide behind the injury. He said it hasn't been lingering for awhile and only cropped up in the last few days. 

Thomson had suggested it might be the reason Romano has had such a wild fluctuation in velocity, but that issue has been around for more than just a few days.

"It's hard to tell and I'm trying to figure that out too," Romano said. "My last pitch [on Monday] was 97 mph so it's frustrating to me too because I know that's in there. It could be a delivery thing. It could be a health thing. We'll see how it goes throwing and hopefully I'll be consistent again."

Jordan Romano on whether he expects to pitch again this year.

“I do, yeah. I just need to figure some things out for sure, right? Obviously the way I was pitching wasn’t great at all, right? So I just need to figure it out and hopefully get back to feeling like my old self.” pic.twitter.com/8WpJB0X6b6

— On Pattison (@OnPattison) August 27, 2025

Romano seemed pretty certain that he will be back pitching this season, but it's not certain in what role the Phillies could use him considering how terrible his season has gone.

He's eligible to return on Sept. 10 - against the Mets.