The Philadelphia Phillies have added an outfielder to the mix.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, they have agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with slugger Max Kepler.

The German-born player was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an international free agent in 2009 at the age of 16 for $800,000, which was the largest contract awarded to a European at the time.

Three years later, Kepler became one of the top 30 prospects in their pipeline, reaching third place in 2016, a season after his major league debut.

At one point, it looked like he was going to be a future superstar in Major League Baseball.

He immediately demonstrated his strength, hitting 17+ home runs in every season starting in 2016, culminating in a monster 36 home run, 90 RBI campaign in 2019 that earned him a 20th place finish in AL MVP voting after five years $35 million dollar contract he signed before this season.

But Kepler’s production stagnated afterwards.

After the COVID-shortened 2020 schedule, he posted an OPS+ below the league average of 100 two years in a row.

It looked like he had some things figured out in 2023, with a .260/.332/.484 slash line to go along with 24 home runs, 66 RBI and an OPS+ of 120, but he had in the past He struggled again this season and eventually became a free agent.

This is an interesting move for the Phillies.

While he certainly offers advantages from a performance standpoint, he also becomes another inconsistent outfield player alongside Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas.

Because he is left-handed, Philadelphia has more options from a platoon perspective, as he has been a solid defender with a defensive BWAR of 2.7 over his career.

Kepler is a nice addition for the price, but with the Phillies needing someone who can turn this team’s fortunes around after two straight disappointing playoff exits, it’s unlikely he’s the player to make it happen.