Justin Crawford appears to be a piece of the 2026 Phillies roster puzzle.
In roughly four months, the Phillies will return to sunny Clearwater, Florida, to begin their preparation for the 2026 season, and all eyes will be on the young outfielder after he handled an aggressive assignment, spending this season in Triple-A as one of the youngest players at the level with great success.
On Thursday, in his near hour-long end-of-the-season press conference, Dave Dombrowski mentioned the prized outfielder unprompted, shedding some light on how he and the organization view the third-ranked prospect in their farm system.
"Max Kepler did a solid job for us, right? Well, he's not going to, most likely, be back, because he's a free agent, and we have Justin Crawford coming," Dombrowski said. “I don’t know what else he really does at the minor league level at this point.”
Crawford is knocking on the door. He essentially did everything a player could do who is pushing for a permanent roster spot with their big league club.
At 21 years old, he won the batting title in the International League with a career-best .334 batting average. He swiped 46 bases, one shy of his career-high and third-most in the league. He posted his highest on-base percentage at .411, tied for the third-best in the league. He finished with the second-most hits with 147. He improved his walk rate, drawing a career-best 58 free passes.
He was one of the best players in all of Triple-A, slashing .334/.411/.452 with an .863 OPS with 47 RBIs in 112 games, all while hitting the ball on the ground at a 59.4% clip.
The success the outfielder had this season is not a surprise to Zach Friedman, who scouted Crawford when he was playing at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, the same program that has produced big league talent in Joey Gallo, Paul Sewald and Austin Wells.
Yet, Friedman was looking at a different prospect and teammate of Crawford’s when he went to a Bishop Gorman game in the spring of 2021. Crawford quickly stood out in that initial encounter and from that point forward was on Friedman’s radar.
“He just kind of wowed me from the beginning,” Friedman said.
“I went to go watch him play, and before a game, he was just sitting there, and I was like, hey, don’t you wanna go get some swings in?” Friedman asked.
“No, I’m good,” Crawford said. The young outfielder went on to have a three-hit game, with two going for extra bases, and made a nice play in the outfield.
"I was like, yeah, you were good,” Friedman said. “He grabbed my attention from the very first time.”
Justin Crawford at bat for the Reading Fightin's on Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024. Photo Credit: Alec Kostival
Speaking of good, this core featuring Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner has been just that, especially in the regular season. The postseason performances have been less to be desired, but there is no doubt that they have helped the Phillies become a formidable force in a strong National League.
They helped lead the Phillies to back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 2010-11 seasons, they positioned themselves to make the postseason in each of the last four seasons after a 10 year drought marred the franchise.
This core is also aging and with each season not finishing with a World Series celebration down Broad Street, the magnification of that fact increases.
There are questions surrounding how much of the nucleus stays intact for 2026 and beyond.
Harper just turned 33 this week. Turner turns 33 next summer. That duo is essentially set in stone to continue to be stalwarts in the lineup. However, Dombrowski mentioned that it would be “impractical” that the team would be able to keep all four of Schwarber and Realmuto, the other half of the franchise pillars along with Ranger Suarez and Harrison Bader.
Schwarber, a free agent and expected frontrunner to be brought back, turns 33 during Spring Training. Realmuto, who can also test the open market, will begin his 13th season next year at age 35 if the front office opts to re-sign the catcher who finished his seventh season in Philadelphia.
The Phillies' average age on the roster was 28.9 this season, the eighth-oldest squad in MLB and fifth-oldest in the National League, only ahead of the Dodgers (30.2), Mets (29.5), Padres (29.4) and Cubs (29.3).
"It'll be very interesting next Spring Training, because those guys are on the doorstep, and a couple of them are ready to go. So we'll see,” Manager Rob Thomson said.
“Those guys” include Crawford, Andrew Painter, and Aidan Miller. Painter and Miller could see time with the Phillies at some point in 2026 and continue the infusion of youth. Crawford, though, appears to be the closest to bringing that youth to the big league roster to start the season, something Thomson is looking forward to.
"I love having young players around. I think it boosts the energy of the team, the experienced guys, the fan base. The fan base loves watching young kids have success,” Thomson said.
It seemed the fans were going to see Crawford this season. After not being traded at the deadline, many thought he would be up when rosters expanded in September. That never materialized, and the timeline for the outfielder was fuzzy. Dombrowski and Thomson were in sync, stating that Crawford would need to play every day if he was called up. That path never opened after Brandon Marsh turned his season around after a woeful April along with the addition of Bader at the trade deadline.
Heading into 2026, there does not seem to be any uncertainty when it comes to the plan for Crawford.
"He needs to go to camp and just do what he's basically been doing," Dombrowski said. "He's led leagues in hitting, he can steal bases, he's a good energy guy, he's a solid outfielder. You want somebody to come in and just keep their head above water."
"He has never been overwhelmed when he's been with us at any level, and we keep moving him up," Dombrowski added.
Crawford has shown he can handle himself at the highest level of the minor leagues, all while producing and dealing with distractions. With potential trade and call-up rumors late this summer, he was peppered with questions regarding the two subjects. Crawford never wavered, eluding any clickbait headlines after a game in early August.
“Obviously they know best. Whenever they decide to make that decision is when they make it,” Crawford said outside the IronPigs clubhouse. “I feel good and I just have to continue to show up every day and do what I do every day.”
That decision now seems to be made based on Dombrowski’s comments.
It is not set in stone. Crawford will need to seize the ample opportunities that will be given to him next spring. If all goes according to plan, the left-handed hitting outfielder will most certainly be on the Opening Day roster as part of the left field platoon that will most likely take place, although Crawford did hit well against lefties this season posting a .929 OPS and a .376 batting average in 85 at-bats.
"You really want to just see that he just continues to handle himself the same way that he has," Dombrowski said.
“It’s some of the best makeup you can come across,” Friedman said. “He’s driven. He’s motivated. I think he wants to be the best.”
