Dave Dombrowski’s comments on Justin Crawford and Max Kepler post trade deadline are mind-boggling

Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski spoke to the media after the trade deadline on Thursday. He made two solid trades before the deadline, acquiring reliever Jhoan Duran and outfielder Harrison Bader from the Twins in two separate transactions.

Both were great moves for the Phillies, but his comments to the media concerning the state of the outfield, especially top prospect Justin Crawford, make me feel like I’m taking crazy pills:

"We think he's ready to play at the big league level," said Dave Dombrowski on Justin Crawford.

"We could bring him up. If we do bring him up, he needs to play a lot. I'm not sure that we're in a position to do that at this point today, but he's not somebody that we would… pic.twitter.com/TuQH1gw3Sj

— Shaun Nestor (@shaun_nestor) July 31, 2025

Dave Dombrowski on Max Kepler

"He's playing left field for us at this time. He's actually been swinging the bat a little bit better, particularly versus right-handed pitching. But he's part of our roster at this time."

WHY WHY WHY.

CALL UP CRAWFORD.

STOP IT #RingTheBell

— SleeperPhillies (@SleeperPhillies) July 31, 2025

What the hell are you even talking about, Dave? Max Kepler’s most memorable moments this season have included hitting a woman in the face with a baseball and complaining about a lack of playing time, despite boasting a negative WAR.

I genuinely don’t know what more Dombrowski needs to see from either Crawford or Kepler. Crawford is batting .325 in Triple-A for Christ’s sake. What else can this kid do to prove himself?

Meanwhile, as I mentioned before, Kepler is a net-negative when he takes the field. It’s obvious that he should be DFA’d to make room for Crawford on the roster so he can get the reps Sleepy Dave says he needs.

And he is right about that. Young players need at-bats when they get to the majors. Even though he’s tearing up the minors and clearly ready for the bigs, he should be called up and play every day.

And guess what, if Dave thinks he’s not ready to take the spot from Max fucking Kepler of all people, he should have traded him and gotten the Phillies another outfielder that can actually make a difference.

Instead, Kepler somehow keeps his spot, Crawford continues to sit in Triple-A, and the Phillies are going to trot out the same middle of the lineup for the third straight postseason. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Bader acquisition, but it’s not a blockbuster deal that transforms the team offensively.

Sleepy Dave Dombrowski is out of his mind.

As it stands, not dealing some more prospects to get a lineup-altering bat in the outfield, who would double as some essential protection for Bryce Harper, is a complete failure.

Now, maybe he’s just trying to soften the blow for Kepler and will DFA him once the trade deadline dust settles so he can call up Crawford. If that’s the case, so be it. I still think going and getting Steven Kwan or Luis Robert would’ve been preferable.

No matter how you slice it, Dave woke up for a brief moment, got Duran and Bader, then hit the snooze button. Right back to sleep. Maybe 6 pm is past his bedtime? Who knows?

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