![\"Division](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/division-series-los-angeles-dodgers-v-philadelphia-phillies-game-two.jpg\")
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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 06: Max Kepler #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies slides into third base after hitting a triple during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 06, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Former Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> outfielder Max Kepler is back on the waiver wire. The Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> announced<\/a> that they\u2019ve designated Kepler for assignment.<\/p>\n We have made the following roster moves: <\/p>\n Kepler, 33, was a member of the Phillies\u2019 2025 outfield. Philadelphia signed him to a one-year, $10 million deal in free agency after 10 seasons with the Minnesota Twins<\/a>. Used primarily as a platoon bat, he slashed .216\/.300\/.391 with 18 home runs for Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Kepler\u2019s deal with the Phillies proved to be one of many failed one-year gambles<\/a> under president of operations Dave Dombrowski.<\/p>\n The club decided to move on and signed Adolis Garcia to a similar contract. Garcia suffered a season-ending shoulder injury<\/a> in June.<\/p>\n Diamondbacks DFA Max Kepler After 41 Games<\/p>\n \n Following his one season in Philadelphia, Max Kepler was hit with an 80-game suspension after failing a drug test. He signed a major league deal with the Diamondbacks right before the suspension ended. Arizona had been looking to add left-handed impact to their lineup.<\/p>\n However, he didn\u2019t last very long in Arizona. In 41 games, Kepler hit just .209 with two home runs and a .565 OPS. His PED suspension also rendered him ineligible for postseason play.<\/p>\n With that in mind, Arizona sought a more permanent upgrade. They acquired outfielder Lars Nootbaar from the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> on deadline day.\u00a0Kepler\u2019s struggles at the plate, plus the Nootbaar trade, likely spelled the end of his tenure in Arizona.<\/p>\n Kepler will go through the typical DFA process. He\u2019ll likely be released by the Diamondbacks within the next five days. More or less, his 2026 season is virtually over given his ineligibility for postseason play.<\/p>\n There will be a lot of speculation on Max Kepler\u2019s future. The 33-year-old crossed the 10-year service time threshold while with the Diamondbacks. That means he gets the full benefits from the MLBPA.<\/p>\n It could come down to how much more Kepler wants to play. He\u2019s unlikely to get a major league deal this offseason. The question will be if he\u2019s willing to grind through a Triple-A assignment to have another crack at the big leagues.<\/p>\n Phillies Right Now<\/p>\n \n The Phillies outfield situation got to the point where the team needed a creative solution to improve their lineup. The club acquired three-time batting champion Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants<\/a>.<\/p>\n That led to a major defensive alignment change. The most notable one was first baseman Bryce Harper returning to the outfield for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n The Phillies are benefiting from this improvement. Since the start of August, they are 23-9. They\u2019re locked in a race for the National League\u2019s top Wild Card spot, with a remote chance of winning the NL East division.<\/p>\n They\u2019re currently in a stretch of games that could decide that. The Phillies are the third of seven games between themselves and the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves<\/a>. The final five contests between the two rivals could decide who takes the division.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMichael McDermott<\/a> Michael McDermott covers MLB and the Arizona Cardinals for Heavy Sports. He’s previously published content for SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, and FanSided since 2015. Michael covered the Arizona Diamondbacks as an on-site reporter for Arizona Diamondbacks On SI for the 2022-2024 seasons and the Arizona Fall League for 2022-2025. More about Michael McDermott<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 06: Max Kepler #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies slides into third base after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,4,144,25,4216,40],"class_list":["post-798266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-phillies","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-philadelphiaphillies","tag-phillies"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117225416935913633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Arizona](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arizona-diamondbacks-v-pittsburgh-pirates-pittsburgh-pa-july-28-max-kepler-e1788714918256.jpg\")
GettyFormer Phillies outfielder Max Kepler hit .209 with a .565 OPS in 41 games with the Diamondbacks in 2026. (Photo by Justin K. Aller\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n![\"Philadelphia](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/philadelphia-phillies-v-arizona-diamondbacks-phoenix-arizona-september-01-bryce-harper-e178837564981.jpeg\")
GettyThe Phillies outfield struggles resulted in star slugger Bryce Harper taking over right field after the trade deadline. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n