Phillies ‘pretty well set’ in outfield after adding Adolis García; catcher is now the ‘main focus’

With the addition of Adolis García, the Phillies’ outfield picture for 2026 has come into focus.

García, who officially signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Phillies on Tuesday, will get the opportunity to be the Phillies’ everyday right fielder. And now the outfield is “pretty well set,” according to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

Their top priority now becomes the catcher position, and bringing back J.T. Realmuto is the main focus.

» READ MORE: Adolis García could be the new Nick Castellanos, and he looks the part. Uncomfortably so.

“We just continue to grind along and see if we can come up with a solution,” Dombrowski said. “We’ve talked consistently about trying to sign J.T., and we remain that way. But we haven’t been able to get it done so far.”

As it stands, García will slot into right field, with Brandon Marsh in left — likely in a platoon role with Otto Kemp — and Justin Crawford will get an opportunity to be the everyday center fielder. The Phillies have already made clear their intention of cutting ties with Nick Castellanos this offseason.

Dombrowski pointed to Johan Rojas and prospect Gabriel Rincones Jr. as backup outfield options.

“We like the players,” Dombrowski said. “We think Brandon Marsh is a good player. He hasn’t taken the next step vs. left-handed pitching. We’ve talked about that. Will he do it? I’m not sure, but we do like Otto Kemp. We think when we look at ourselves, that that’s one of the best combos in left field, if you look at the two of them. Adolis, we think helps us in right field. It gives us an improvement there. And we think Justin is going to be a good player.”

By committing to this configuration, the Phillies are taking a few gambles. First, they’re betting on García returning to his 2023 form, when he hit .245 with an .836 OPS and helped power the Texas Rangers to the World Series.

Since then, García has seen a drop-off in his performance at the plate. Last season, the righty slashed .227/.271/.394 with a 93 OPS+, and he was non-tendered by the Rangers in November. Underlying those numbers, García’s chase rate of 29.3% in 2023 increased to 35.7% in 2025.

» READ MORE: The Phillies are sticking with a veteran core in 2026. But this time the kids have to play too.

Defensively, though, he remained reliable, recording +1 outs above average and +16 defensive runs saved in right field.

It’s a familiar bet for Dombrowski, who took a similar risk on Max Kepler a year ago on another one-year, $10 million contract.

“He needs to be more under control with the 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. And our hitting coaches, to me, that’s one of the things that they do very well with working with individuals. It’s a matter of not trying to do too much. ...

“The tools are there. The ball jumps off his bat, still. Bat speed is still there. Exit velocity is very good. So those are all things that we feel encouraged about.”

García’s average exit velocity of 92.1 mph in 2025 was the same as his 2023 marker. His bat speed of 72.1 mph dipped slightly from 73.6 mph in 2023.

The Phillies plan to send hitting coach Kevin Long or assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez to meet up with García where he’s training in Tampa to start working.

“I want to be able to focus on being a better version of myself, to add a piece to this winning team,” García said through an interpreter. “There’s a great team involved. I just want to go and play my defense, and hopefully my bat will be there. And I just want to be a piece that contributes to this good team.”

» READ MORE: Kyle Schwarber found his way back to the Phillies, and he hopes J.T. Realmuto does the same

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he’s made no decisions on where García might hit in the lineup, but he could potentially be protection for the Phillies’ left-handed bats.

The other gamble the Phillies are making with their 2026 outfield is handing the keys in center field to Crawford, who has yet to make his major league debut.

The Phillies repeatedly said that they felt Crawford was ready for the majors last season, when he hit .334 and stole 46 bases in triple A, but he did not have a path to regular playing time. In 2026, the road will be wide-open.

“If you’re going to give Crawford an opportunity, you’ve got to give it to him,” Dombrowski said. “And that’s where we are. We’re going to give him the opportunity to go out there, and have a chance to play a lot.”

Thomson said he called Crawford, who turns 22 in January, on Monday night.

“I knew that he was going to hear about the Adolis deal and being a young kid, I just wanted to reiterate the fact that he’s coming into camp to win a job, and signing a Adolis does not affect Justin at all,” Thomson said. “Again, I want him to come into camp, be himself, and if he is himself, he’ll make this club.”