2025 Chachi #6 Max Kepler

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  225
Opening Day 2025 Age:  32

Born:  February 10, 1993, Berlin, Germany
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent with the Phillies, December 20, 2024

Contract Status:  Signed through 2025
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 2015-24; Philadelphia Phillies 2025

Postseason Appearances:  Minnesota Twins 2017, 2019-20, 2023; Philadelphia Phillies 2025

2025 Philadelphia Phillies
Kids Club / Club 215

Signed to a one-year deal last December and given the everyday left fielder's job to start the season, Max Kepler had the worst season of his otherwise successful ten years in the majors.  He was benched at times throughout the season, and manager Rob Thomson opted for a platoon in the outfield by mid-season, with Brandon Marsh, Weston Wilson and eventually Harrison Bader seeing more playing time that Kepler.  In 127 games overall, including 88 starts in left and 24 starts in right, Kepler batted .216 with 19 doubles, 18 home runs and 52 RBIs.  As of this writing in late December, Kepler is still a free agent looking for a home for the 2026 season.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2010 Bowman Prospects #BCP203
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  2016-25
Favorite 2025 Card:  2025 Philadelphia Phillies Kids Club / Club 215
Total Cards in My Phillies Collection:  4 as of 12/27/25, 3 added in 2025

TCDB Stats: 3,623 total as of 12/27/25, my 25 cards overall are ranked 302nd, 1st is hwi5wi with 2,430

Complete Chachi Checklist

2025 Chachi #6

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

2025 Chachi #5 J.T. Realmuto 

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2025 Chachi #7 Nick Castellanos

Game 146 - Outfielders Kepler, Marsh, Bader Pace Phils Over Mets

New York Mets	3
Philadelphia Phillies	11

2021 Topps Heritage #120

Wednesday Night, September 10th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
86-60, 1st Place, 10 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Max Kepler drove in five runs and Cristopher Sanchez made it look easy against the Mets' line-up in this convincing 11-3 win.

What It Means:  The magic number to clinch a division title is seven.  The last and only time the Phillies had a 10-game lead in the division on September 10th was in 2011.  Amazingly, the Phillies will try to complete a four-game sweep tonight.

What Happened:  Kepler, Harrison Bader and Brandon Marsh combined to go 8 for 14 in this game with five runs scored and seven RBIs.  The outfield platoon recently put in place by manager Rob Thomson definitely seems to be working, although veteran Nick Castellanos has been the odd man out lately given the hot streaks from Kepler and Marsh.  Bader and Marsh both doubled in this game with Kepler hitting a solo home run in the eighth.  Bryce Harper also homered, his 25th of the season.

Sanchez could have gone longer in this game, but with an 8-1 lead after six, Thomson turned to his bullpen.  Sanchez improved to 13-5, allowing a run on six hits while striking out six.

Featured Card:  The lack of Phillies baseball cards for Kepler means I have to dig back into the archives again, and this is his 1972 Topps inspired card from the 2021 Topps Heritage set.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 141 - Kepler, Stott Back Sanchez's Stellar Start

Philadelphia Phillies	9
Miami Marlins	3

2018 Topps Heritage #73

Friday Night, September 5th

loanDepot park - Miami, FL
82-59, 1st Place, 6 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies pounded out nine runs on 16 hits and Cristopher Sanchez was stellar for seven innings in this 9-3 series opening win.

What It Means:  They've won five of their last seven while maintaining a six-game lead over the Mets in the division.

What Happened:  Sanchez improved to 12-5, allowing a run on six hits while striking out five.  Tanner Banks had a rare shaky outing, allowing a two-run home run to Brian Navarreto in the bottom of the eighth.  Tim Mayza pitched a scoreless ninth.

The Phillies took a quick lead in the first when Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper all singled to start the game.  Harper's single brought Turner home.  Max Kepler hit his 15th home run in the second.  Three more runs scored in the fourth when Brandon Marsh hit a two-run home run and Harrison Bader followed that with a solo home run of his own.  And the scoring continued with four more runs in the seventh.  Kepler added an RBI-single and Bryson Stott hit a three-run home run, his 10th of the season.

Featured Card:  Stott drove in the most runs, but Kepler paced the offense with a few key hits.  Collectors are still waiting on Kepler's first mainstream Phillies baseball card, and here's his 1969 Topps inspired card from the 2018 Topps Heritage set.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 116 - Kepler's Double Gives Phils, Luzardo Win Over Rangers

Philadelphia Phillies	3
Texas Rangers	2

2024 Topps Update
1989 Topps Chrome #T89CU-45

Saturday Night, August 9th

Globe Life Field - Arlington, TX
67-49, 1st Place, 4 1/2 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Max Kepler's two-run double was the difference in this game, as Jesus Luzardo held the Rangers to one run to pick up this 11th win.

What It Means:  The Phillies go for the series sweep this afternoon with Zack Wheeler on the mound.

What Happened:  Luzardo has been inconsistent of late, so when the Rangers scored a first inning run and seemed to have runners on a lot in the early innings, there was some concern.  But he settled in to pitch six innings, scattering seven hits while striking out four.  Rangers' starter Jacob deGrom was making easy work of the Phillies line-up until the seventh inning.  With one out, Brandon Marsh singled, Harrison Bader walked, and Kepler doubled them both home for the lead.  Bryson Stott would later single Kepler home for a much-needed insurance run.  Jhoan Duran pitched his third consecutive one-two-three inning for his third save with the Phillies.

Featured Card:  Kepler was snubbed from the Topps Series Two checklist, and hopefully he gets a Phillies card in the Topps Update set.  I've only two cards of his with the Phillies, both issued by the team, and both have already had appearances on this blog.  So here's a shiny card of his from last year's Topps Update set, featuring him with his former team.

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Game 70 - Kepler's Homer Breaks Tie, Sends Phils to Victory

Toronto Blue Jays	2
Philadelphia Phillies	3

2025 Philadelphia Phillies Photocards

Saturday Afternoon, June 14th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
41-29, 2nd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Max Kepler's eighth inning home run was the difference in this 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

What It Means:  The Phillies will go for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon, Father's Day, with Zack Wheeler on the mound.

What Happened:  Cristopher Sanchez turned in another great performance, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five.  Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm kept the Jays off the board over the final two innings.  

The Phillies scored their first two runs in the fourth solely on the wildness of Blue Jays' pitcher Bowden Francis.  With two outs, Nick Castellanos and Kepler walked and J.T. Realmuto was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Bryson Stott walked to tie the game at 1-1, and Otto Kemp was hit by a pitch to give the Phillies a temporary 2-1 lead.  The Blue Jays tied the game in the top of the fifth on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s RBI double.

Featured Card:  Hopefully Kepler is getting hot?  He hit the ball hard all weekend, and his home run in the eighth, his eighth of the year, was the difference in this game.  This is his 4x6 team-issued photo card, which surprisingly uses a different photo than his standard-sized Kids Club card.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 33 - Kepler, Realmuto Back Nola for His First Win of '25

Arizona Diamondbacks	2
Philadelphia Phillies	7

2025 Philadelphia Phillies
Kids Club / Club 215

Saturday Night, May 3rd

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
19-14, 2nd Place, 3 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola continued to shake off his early season cobwebs and won his first game backed by home runs from Max Kepler and J.T. Realmuto.

What It Means:  The Phillies have won six of their last seven games and go for the series sweep this afternoon as Ranger Suarez makes his season debut.

What Happened:  Nola scattered four hits and a walk over his six innings of work, striking out eight Diamondback batters.  The Phillies jumped on 2023 NLCS nemesis Brandon Pfaadt for seven runs (six earned), chasing the pitcher in the fifth inning.  Kepler hit a two-run home run in the second, a laser line drive to right.  J.T. Realmuto doubled, Alec Bohm singled and Brandon Marsh doubled home Realmuto to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead.  Realmuto added a three-run home run in the third as the rain intensified.

Featured Card:  This is Kepler's first, and to date only, Phillies baseball card.  18 cards were available to collect at the ballpark with a membership to the Phillies Kids Club or Club 215 through the first month of the season, and last night I was pleasantly surprised to see the addition of a Kepler card to raise the total cards in the set to 19.  Still no sign of a Jesus Luzardo card, which hopefully changes soon.

Field Report:  We attended this game with family and had a great night in spite of the steady rain throughout the middle of the game.  The Phanatic paid our section a visit in the sixth inning and we watched a few pitches together before he departed for the Phanatic Dance with a bunch of lucky kids.

Transaction:  Marsh (of) was activated from the injured list and Cal Stevenson (of) was sent back down to Lehigh Valley.  Suarez (lhp) was also activated with Jose Ruiz (rhp) going on the 15-day injured list with a neck spasm.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 27 - Six-Run Fourth Inning Propels Phils to Victory

Philadelphia Phillies	10
Chicago Cubs	4

2016 Topps #475

Saturday Afternoon, April 26th

Wrigley Field - Chicago, IL
14-13, 2nd Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Jesus Luzardo continued to impress and Max Kepler had his biggest game yet with his new club, as the Phillies downed the Cubs, 10-4.

What It Means:  The win split the series and ended the five-game losing streak.  Hopefully a lengthy winning streak is coming next.

What Happened:  Luzardo improved to 3-0, allowing three hits and two unearned runs in six innings of work, while striking out five.  A costly error by Trea Turner led to the unearned runs in the fifth.  This was the sequence in the big fourth inning - Kyle Schwarber was hit by a pitch, Nick Castellanos singled, J.T. Realmuto singled, Kepler singled, scoring Schwarber.  Alec Bohm singled, scoring Castellanos, and Johan Rojas hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Realmuto.  Bryson Stott singled, scoring Kepler and Bryce Harper capped the inning with a two-run double.  That chased Cubs' pitcher Ben Brown, a former Phillies' farmhand.

Three more runs scored in the sixth on an RBI-single from Turner and a two-run double from Schwarber.  Kepler ended his big day with a solo home run, his second of the season, in the seventh.

Featured Card:  Collectors are still waiting for Kepler's first Phillies card.  Here's his rookie card from the smokey 2016 Topps set.

Transaction:  Phillies Room Favorite Kody Clemens has joined Kepler's former team.  Clemens (inf) was traded to the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations, given the popular back-up was out of minor league options.  In parts of three seasons with the Phillies, Clemens batted .220 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs.  He appeared in 97 games, playing every position except catcher and center field.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Spring Training Game 1 - Baseball is Back!

Philadelphia Phillies	6
Detroit Tigers	7

2024 Topps Heritage #476

Spring Training Game 1

Saturday Afternoon, February 22

Joker Marchant Stadium - Lakeland, FL

Record - 0-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies dropped the Grapefruit League lid-lifter late, falling to the Tigers by a score of 7-6.

What It Means:   I started composing these Phillies game summary posts at some point during the 2009 season, and I briefly considered stopping the daily routine following the 2024 season.  I know I'm not breaking any news here, and my readership is several dozen views a post, at best.  (And who know how many of those are just bots?)  But this blog brings me joy, always has, and my brief hesitation to continue this daily practice throughout 2025 was quickly put aside when I realized how much I'd miss doing this.  I also realized how much I needed to keep doing this.

Our country is an embarrassing mess.  The Phillies, baseball cards, and by extension this blog, give me a daily respite from the doom-scrolling that might otherwise occupy what free time I have.  I don't have any grand answers, and I wish I did, but I can be kind to others suffering or sad and try to help.  I can continue to support the causes and organizations that provide much-needed empathy and make a difference to our communities.  I can share some Phillies highlights and a baseball card on a daily basis, ensuring my mental health is getting some attention.  We can and we will keep moving forward.  Play ball.

What Happened:  Non-roster invitee Nabil Crismatt got the start for the Phillies, and he pitched two scoreless innings.  Relievers Jose Cuas, Austin Schulfer and Wesley Moore let the Tigers chip away at what had been a 6-1 Phillies lead heading to the bottom of the sixth.  Buddy Kennedy had the first home run of the spring for the Phillies in the fifth, and catcher Josh Breaux added a solo shot in the sixth.

Featured Card:  Kennedy's two-run home run gave the Phillies a 5-0 lead.  A few innings earlier, in the third, Max Kepler collected his first hit in a Phillies uniform, driving home a pair with a single to center.  Kepler has been penciled in as the team's regular left fielder, and it was good to see him start strong.  This is the only card of his in my Phillies Collection so far, from last year's Topps Heritage set.

Camp Head Count:  66

As spring training games began, the Phillies officially had 66 players in camp - 40 on the 40-man roster and 26 non-roster invitees.  Weston Wilson (inf) is the first player to succumb to injury, and an oblique injury will keep him on the shelf for about six weeks.

2024-25 Offseason - Merry Christmas!

2024 Topps Chrome Update #USC32

2024 Topps #101

2024 Topps #445

2024 Choice Jersey Shore BlueClaws #8

I'm already doing a better job keeping this blog active throughout the offseason, as the last few years it sat mostly dormant between November and February.  As we get ready to celebrate Christmas and enjoy a much-needed winter break, here's a look at the Phillies news from the past month.

Hays Non-Tendered:  On November 22nd, the Phillies non-tendered Austin Hays (of) making the short-timer a free agent.  Hays suffered through injury and illness in his time with the Phillies, appearing in just 22 games and batting .256 with a pair of home runs.  He was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the NLDS.  Hays' first (and only?) Phillies baseball card can be found in the 2024 Topps Chrome Update set.

Romano Added to Bullpen:  On December 9th, the Phillies added All-Star reliever Jordan Romano (rhp) to their bullpen, signing him to a one-year deal for $8.5 million.  An All-Star with the Blue Jays in 2022 and 2023, Romano appeared in only 15 games last season following an elbow injury.  He had saved 36 games each of the two seasons before that.

Rule 5 Results:  The Phillies selected Mike Vasil (rhp) in the annual rule 5 draft and then almost immediately traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.  In the minor league portion of the draft, the Phillies lost Eiberson Castellano (rhp), the franchise's most recent Paul Owens Award winner for minor league pitcher of the year, to the Twins.  Castellano had pitched as high as Double-A Reading in 2024.

Phils Add Kepler:  Seeking a corner outfield upgrade for 2025, the Phillies signed Max Kepler (off) to a one-year deal on December 20th.  Besides having one of the cooler cards in the 2024 Topps set, Kepler batted .253 last season with eight home runs and 42 RBIs.  He had played in 10 seasons with the Twins, enjoying a career year in 2019 when he connected for career highs in home runs (36) and RBIs (90).  Kepler is expecting to receive significant playing time in left field.

Luzardo Added to the Rotation:  Just when we thought the Phillies were done making major moves for the year, they announced a big trade with the Marlins the Sunday before Christmas.  Jesus Luzardo (lhp) and Paul McIntosh (c-of) were acquired from Miami for minor league prospects Starlyn Caba (ss) and Emaarion Boyd (of).  Luzardo joins a stacked rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez, with Andrew Painter a possibility to join the rotation at some point over the summer.  Luzardo is under team control through the 2026 season.  Caba and Boyd had been ranked as the fourth and 23rd top prospects in the Phillies' system by MLB.com.  Tyler Gilbert (lhp) was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Luzardo.

Ross Joins Bullpen:  And one more amendment . . . On December 23rd, the Phillies signed free agent Joe Ross (rhp), who spent last season with the Brewers.  Before that, Ross pitched in six seasons with the Nationals.  Ross can relieve and start, but given the already crowded starting pitching rotation, I'm assuming he'll be yet another bullpen piece.  To make room on the 40-man roster for Ross, Jose Cuas (rhp) was designated for assignment.  Cuas had been claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays in early September.

2024 Topps #123

2024 Choice Pensacola Blue Wahoos #17

2023 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP-164

2024 Topps Pro Debut #PD-2

2024 Topps Update #US135

There have also been a flurry of minor league signings by the Phillies, but I'll wait until they issue an official list of spring training non-roster invitees before writing further about any of those new players.

Merry Christmas everyone, and here's to a healthy, happy and safe 2025.  We've got this.