PHILADELPHIA -- Adolis García will be the Phillies’ new right fielder in 2026.
Justin Crawford will be the new center fielder.
Brandon Marsh and a right-handed bat – perhaps Otto Kemp – will share time in left.
Unless something unexpected happens in the next several weeks, this will be the Phillies’ outfield to begin the 2026 season. The Phillies on Tuesday announced they had signed García to a one-year, $10 million contract. He will replace Nick Castellanos, who will be traded or released before Spring Training. Crawford will replace free-agent Harrison Bader, who will not return, unless his market surprisingly collapses.
“We’re basically pretty well set out there,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “We feel very good.”
The Phillies entered the offseason with two priorities:
- Re-sign Kyle Schwarber
- Re-sign J.T. Realmuto
“We continue to stay in contact [with Realmuto],” Dombrowski said. “But probably not a lot different than where we’ve been in the past. So we just continue to see if we can come up with a solution. We’ve talked consistently about trying to sign J.T., and we remain that way.”
The Phillies also entered the winter knowing they needed to resolve their outfield situation. Their relationship with Castellanos had ended, despite a year remaining on a five-year, $100 million contract. They knew it would be difficult to re-sign Bader, who is reportedly seeking a three-year contract worth between $10 million and $15 million a year.
A source said last week at the Winter Meetings that if the Phillies re-signed Schwarber and Realmuto that they were unlikely to bring back Bader on a multi-year deal.
Once they signed García, it cinched it.
Dombrowski said as much on Tuesday.
“If you’re going to give Crawford an opportunity, you’ve got to give it to him,” he said about the Phillies’ No. 3 prospect and No. 54 prospect in MLB. “And that’s where we are. We’re going to give him an opportunity to go out there and have a chance to play a lot.”
The Phillies’ outfield has been substandard the past couple of years. It ranked 19th in the Majors this season with a .710 OPS. It had a .708 OPS in 2024.
But the organization will be counting on a rookie center fielder and big bounceback from García to make it better.
García is a bit of a gamble, much like Max Kepler a year ago. García batted .227 with 19 home runs, 75 RBIs, a .665 OPS and a 93 OPS+ this season with the Rangers, who non-tendered him last month. He posted a combined .675 OPS and 96 OPS+ the past two years. But from 2021-23, García had a combined .777 OPS and a 113 OPS+, making two American League All-Star teams and winning 2023 AL Championship Series MVP honors.
There isn’t much in the metrics to suggest that García will bounce back offensively, but the Phillies believe that with better decision-making at the plate -- García chases a lot of pitches out of the zone -- he can rebound.
“He needs to be more under control with his swing,” Dombrowski said. “We don’t need him to hit the ball out of the ballpark on every swing or every at-bat. We think he can do that.”
“Don’t try to do too much,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Because we’ve got a lot of really good players around him.”
García agreed.
“The focus is not to be a hero,” García said through an interpreter.
García could hit as high as fourth in the Phillies’ lineup, depending on how well he plays. Right now, the best bet is that Alec Bohm opens the season as the cleanup hitter.
Dombrowski said the Phillies will continue to find ways to improve the 40-man roster before Opening Day, but he added that “I don’t have a real big need” other than Realmuto.
“I guess we’d look for arms in the bullpen,” Dombrowski said. “But we’ve also got five solid guys out there that are of veteran status. Sometimes, you have to give some young guys an opportunity. We have some guys that we like. So that’s really where it stands. And maybe depth at different positions. We’re dealing with that. But I think as far as our everyday positional players -- other than catcher -- we’re pretty well set.”