Justin Crawford has a ‘real strong chance’ to be in the Phillies outfield this spring

LAS VEGAS — Make room for Justin Crawford in the Phillies’ opening day outfield.

In the most definitive terms yet that the Phillies intend to write Crawford’s name in the lineup — perhaps even in center field — out of spring training, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday that the prized prospect has a “real strong chance to be with our club.”

“We’re giving him that opportunity,” Dombrowski said from the general managers’ meetings at The Cosmopolitan. “We think he can play center field. Will that be our best setup as we go forward? I don’t know that. It’s very dependent. But we feel very comfortable if we say, ‘OK, you’re our center fielder.’”

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Crawford, who will be 22 next season, batted .334 with a .411 on-base percentage and 46 stolen bases this year at Lehigh Valley. He won the International League batting crown and led Phillies minor leaguers with 147 hits.

But the Phillies elected to leave Crawford in triple A all season. They stuck with Max Kepler in left field despite his first-half struggles and traded for Harrison Bader at the deadline to play center.

The thought process has changed. Kepler and Bader are free agents. Last month, Dombrowski ruled out a return for Kepler. Bader is believed to be seeking a multiyear contract on the open market.

Internally, the Phillies have debated whether Crawford is best suited to play center field or left. Crawford got more playing time in left field later in the season after Johan Rojas returned to triple A. But minor league director Luke Murton is among those who have advocated for him in center.

“We’re very confident in his ability to play center field,” Murton said in September. “It’s just a matter of, he’s played less left field over the course of his career, so give him exposure to that so when the opportunity comes, if he has to go to the big leagues and play left field, then he’s prepared to do that.

“But I think, as an organization, we see him as a center fielder.”

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Ultimately, it would depend on how the Phillies fill out the rest of the outfield. Brandon Marsh is a better defender in left field than center; right fielder Nick Castellanos is unlikely to return after getting benched in June for being insubordinate to manager Rob Thomson and losing his everyday job in August.

“It would be easier,” Dombrowski said of playing Crawford in center field, “but I also don’t know what our alternatives are, what other options we may have. Are we better off signing somebody who’s a corner guy? Are we better off signing somebody who’s a center fielder? What makes us the best?

“But I think we feel comfortable with [Crawford] either way.”

Dombrowski reiterated the Phillies’ interest in bringing back Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, who became free agents on Nov. 2.

“It’s more their process than it is ours at this time, in the sense that they set the time frame,” he said. “They know we have interest, and then it’s up to them to kind of say, ‘OK, we’re ready to move forward or not,’ whenever that ends up happening.”

Since Dombrowski’s career in MLB front offices began in 1978, he said the players’ approach to the timing of free agency has undergone major changes.

“Years ago, if not all, almost every one of the free agents wanted to be signed by the holidays,” Dombrowski said. “By Christmas, they wanted to know where they were going, where they’re going for spring training, and they wanted to know that. Well, that’s changed now, where people sign into spring training. So it just changed.”

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Dombrowski said the Phillies are staying “open-minded” this winter about the market. He pointed to last offseason’s trade for Jesús Luzardo as an example. Starting pitching had not been a priority for the Phillies heading into the winter, but they viewed Luzardo’s addition as an opportunity to improve the club.

“We’re in a position where right now we have so many ways we can go because of the free-agent players that we have, and you’re always looking to get better,” Dombrowski said. “… So I think that we just are open-minded, because I don’t know what’s going to happen with our free-agent players, and it’s not like we don’t have the money available.

“I mean, if we don’t sign them, we still have the ability to go out and get other people. So that’s what we would do … then weigh all our different options on how we feel what makes us best.”

Rob Thomson finished third in voting for National League manager of the year behind the Brewers’ Pat Murphy and Reds’ Terry Francona.

The award is voted on at the conclusion of the regular season by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association. Murphy won the award for the second straight season after leading the Brewers to the best record in baseball in 2025.

Thomson received one first-place vote for the award. The Guardians’ Stephen Vogt won it for the second straight year in the American League.