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Max Kepler Opens Up on a Tough 2025 Season
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
It’s been a rough season for Max Kepler.
The only offensive acquisition of the Phillies offseason is hitting just .204 with a .661 OPS. A big portion of this fanbase dreads seeing his name in the lineup everyday and it feels like time could be running out on Kepler in Philadelphia.
The lefty had a great night at the plate on Tuesday, hitting his 12th homer of the season, then following it up with a double later in the game. It was his first game with multiple extra-base hits since March 31st. He spoke to Tom McCarthy and John Kruk following the 5-0 win, and gave a brutally honest answer about the season, his night, and the fans:
“There’s some relief behind it (his home run swing). I feel like I’ve been battling the unlucky type of ball in play with no result for a long time in my career. So, I just gotta try and put my head down and keep going. This (season’s) been tougher than the most, if I reflect on it, but I’m really not trying to reflect too much and trying to stay present, and keep moving forward.”
If you were at Citizens Bank Park tonight, you probably heard boos heading into the top of the 9th inning. It wasn’t because somebody made an out, or an error. It was because Max Lazar was entering the game, which meant the 43,000 in attendance wouldn’t see Jhoan Duran and his entrance.
“Sometimes, I think the boos are their love language,” Kepler said. The team was a little confused at first as to why fans boo’d Max Lazar in the 9th, but realized it’s because it meant no Jhoan Duran. “I think I’ve given up trying to figure it out, I’m just here doing my thing.”
Wednesday will be the last day of Rob Thomson’s 6-day platoon plan post-trade deadline. Harrison Bader and Weston Wilson will probably get the start for the afternoon game. Thomson has not revealed the plan moving forward, but it seems like Harrison Bader will get more consistent playing time after Wednesday, which could leave Kepler as the odd-man out in the outfield:
“It’s hard. To be honest, I can’t say I have been the most present lately. I just try to confide with my brothers, and just enjoy what they do…If I play unselfish baseball, then I feel like I’m with the team and in the collective, and not thinking about the results having to come my way in the future.” – Max Kepler
I respect what Max Kepler did tonight. It’s not easy to be a struggling athlete in Philadelphia. He was dead honest on the postgame show. He doesn’t want to play bad baseball; he just hasn’t been able to find it this season. We’ll see where things go from here:
“It was huge. With the home run and the double, that was big time for all of us. Kepler’s a gangster. He’s going to show up and compete everyday. Today was big for us, he came through” – Brandon Marsh on Max Kepler
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com