Phillies Must Accept Harsh Brandon Marsh Reality

Remember earlier this season when Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh was tearing the cover off of the ball and was looking like a sure-fire extension candidate?

My, how times have changed.

To begin the month of July, Marsh boasted an .881 OPS. He was an obvious All-Star, and up until that point, he had been the Phillies' second-best player behind Kyle Schwarber.

Fast forward to late August, and Marsh's OPS has plummeted to .748. He has just one home run since July 21 and only two dating back to July 2. He posted a .140/.213/.209 slash line last month. He has been better in August, but his .647 OPS for the month is still rather unsightly.

It has gotten so bad for Marsh, in fact, that he now owns a 99 OPS+, just below the approximate league average of 100. It's also his worst mark since arriving in Philadelphia midway through 2022.

Funny enough, Marsh's .748 OPS on the season as a whole is actually identical to his career median, a strong indication that the player we saw from March through June is not who Marsh actually is.

The 28-year-old is a decent player for sure, but he isn't a star, and it stands to reason that 2026 will represent his lone All-Star appearance.

Marsh's once-elite defense has even fallen off a cliff, as he registered a minus-7 DRS last season and is at a flat zero in that category this year. He also lays claim to a minus-1 OAA and a minus-5 FRV, so none of the metrics like him in the field anymore.

Now, about that extension...

The Phillies simply cannot afford to dole out a lucrative contract to a player who has declined so much over the last couple of months and who is also clearly not the defender he once was.

Does that mean Philadelphia should dump Marsh once he hits free agency after next season? Certainly not. He's still a fine player, but his 0.9 WAR is a pretty obvious tell that he isn't worth an extravagant nine-figure deal.

The Phillies already have too much money tied into failed long-term contracts, with Aaron Nola and Trea Turner comprising the two biggest culprits. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo have also all inked expensive multi-year pacts.

With Philadelphia having some obvious holes it needs to repair and not a whole lot of available money to do so, the Phillies would be wise to avoid paying Marsh big bucks this coming offseason.

Again, that doesn't mean that Marsh's Philadelphia tenure has to come to a screeching halt after 2026, but it does mean that the Phils have to weigh their options ... like potentially trading him, for example.

Considering the Phillies are in need of outfield help as it is, moving Marsh would be a tough sell, and that's understandable. But at the very least, Philadelphia needs to assess whether or not it's actually worth keeping him around at the money he may be seeking.