A position that has been a revolving door over the last handful of years will have consistency as the 2025 Phillies‘ season begins next Thursday in Washington D.C. According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the team has announced that Brandon Marsh will not only be the Opening Day starter but also will have more leeway to start the season.
Brandon Marsh gets Phillies’ CF nod
This marks Marsh’s second starting nod on Opening Day with the Phillies, patrolling centerfield in 2023 in the festive-like game that kicks off the marathon that is a baseball season. He also becomes the eighth different starter manning centerfield in the last eight seasons. The last time the club had a centerfielder start consecutive Opening Days was when Odubel Herrera was the mainstay from 2015-17.
The bigger news regarding Marsh is the fact he will not be battling in a platoon to open up the year despite his struggles against left-handed pitching. Last season, the outfielder barely played when there was a southpaw on the mound, slashing .192/.270/.282 while posting a .552 OPS, the eighth lowest among left-handed hitters with at least 90 plate appearances. It’s an interesting development since Marsh has been shielded from facing lefties since joining the Phillies in 2022.
Overall, Marsh, 27, has been solid this spring hitting .290 in 31 at-bats with a homer and four RBI. Against left-handed pitching he’s 3-for-7 at the plate with a double and perhaps most notably, three walks. According to Zolecki, Marsh has put in the work taking anywhere from 100-150 swings every day making adjustments to his approach against left-handers.
It will be intriguing to see how long of a runway Marsh has. Perhaps some of the decision process is due to the fact that Johan Rojas was banged up with a shoulder injury he suffered in winter ball and just ramping defensively.
Don’t be surprised if a platoon becomes part of the plan at some point this season as teams continue to maximize matchups. For now, Marsh is his own pilot, looking to make the runway as long as possible being the everyday centerfielder.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
