Phillies Could Cut Ties with 4-Year Fan Favorite: Insider

By Jackson Roberts

Contributing Sports Writer

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The Philadelphia Phillies' run of success over the last four years has been built on chemistry, and outfielder Brandon Marsh has been a player the fan base has latched onto because of his infectious energy.

Marsh's wild hair and beard, aggressive play style, fun-loving personality, and penchant for mashing right-handed pitchers have all combined to make him a fan favorite. But the Phillies were hoping he would eventually grow into something more than a platoon player, and in 3 1/2 years since he arrived in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels, that hasn't happened.

Now, as the Phillies look to completely revamp an outfield that has straggled behind every other facet of the roster in recent years, Marsh could find himself on the wrong side of the coin.

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According to a Thursday report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Marsh might become a trade candidate this offseason for a Phillies team that is already aggressively shopping disgruntled right fielder Nick Castellanos.

"Free agent Harrison Bader remains a potential fit in a Phillies outfield that could completely turn over," Heyman wrote. "The Phillies are shopping Nick Castellanos, and might also consider a trade for Brandon Marsh."

Bringing back Bader could displace Marsh as an option in center field, but the two could also coexist and potentially even spell each other as occasional platoon partners. Bader outhit Marsh by a considerable margin this season, however, and he had reverse splits, meaning he was better against righties than lefties.

Marsh had an odd season, as his 114 OPS+ was quite strong, but his defense was such a negative in his extended playing time in center field that he was only worth 1.7 bWAR in 133 games. And if he's not a viable center fielder, then he'd probably need to be an even better hitter to justify occupying a roster spot to only play corner outfield and only face righties.

With two years of team control left, Marsh's trade value is also somewhat tricky to determine, so the Phillies almost certainly haven't made up their minds to trade him yet. It's more likely that they'd gauge how other teams were valuing him and decide how much shaking up the depth chart was necessary.

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