Think about this.

The Phillies projected starting outfield for the upcoming season is Adolis Garcia, Brandon Marsh, and rookie Justin Crawford.

It is a trio filled with potential, but it is a trio equally filled with uncertainty.

Garcia is a veteran who will look to duplicate his banner 2023 season with Texas, and Marsh will get every chance to build on his 2025 finish that saw him finish with a .281 average.

So, all eyes this year will be on the 22-year-old Crawford, who will be the Phillies’ youngest center fielder to be an opening day starter since 21-year-old Richie Ashburn in 1948. The Phillies also have never had an outfielder win the Rookie-of-the-Year award.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I will look at the Phillies’ outfield in the present and the past, review the Mets’ and Yankees’ outfield situations, the outfield free-agent market, and recall the career of a former Marian star.

Justin Time?: There was plenty of speculation in the early offseason that the Phillies would re-sign Harrison Bader and rework Nick Castellanos back into the mix to help ease the 22-year-old Crawford into the lineup and provide some protection if Marsh struggled.

But president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had his sights set on Crawford starting in center field and Marsh in left. That was made clear when Dombrowski let Bader walk away to the Giants. This move can prove to be a major mistake if Crawford falters and it also reduces the club’s depth.

It also became clear that any mending with Castellanos wasn’t in the cards.

Crawford’s 2025 season with the IronPigs was the selling point for Dombrowski. He hit .334 with seven homers, 47 RBIs, and stole 46 bases.

On the Phillies’ 40-man roster, the current depth is Otto Kemp, Pedro Leon, Gabriel Rincones Jr. Dombrowski likely will look to increase Kemp’s role from last season when he hit .234 in 62 games.

The Heat Was On: Besides Crawford, the Phillies have had a number of young center fielders who were once ticketed to be breakthrough stars.

In the 1950s, Richie Ashburn was a 21-year-old who was a mainstay, and 23-year-old Tony Gonzalez covered the land with a steady glove and bat in the ‘60s.

Shane “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Victorino burst onto the scene in 2006 as a relatively unknown 25-year-old and had a solid career, and 23-year-old Odubel Herrera was labeled as the solution in 2015, but he fizzled after four seasons.

Trivia Time: What Phillies’ outfielder made his major league debut at age 19 in 1970? Answer below (Don’t peak).

Willie Wonder: It was Spring Training in 1971, and the Phillies decided to take a chance on another rookie center field named Willie Montanez. Yes, we likely remember him as a first baseman, but Montanez broke into the big leagues as outfielder.

And Montanez came to Philly thanks to Curt Flood.

On Oct. 7, 1969, the Phillies pulled off one of their major trades in club history. They sent Dick Allen, Jerry Johnson, and Cookie Rojas to the Cardinals for Flood, Tim McCarver, Byron Browne, and Joe Hoerner. The Phillies thought they had a centerpiece center fielder with Flood, who won seven consecutive Gold Gloves.

But Flood didn’t want to report to the Phillies, and the Cardinals offered Montanez, who was in their system.

Montanez spent the 1970 season with then Triple-A Eugene and he hit .276 with 16 homers and 80 RBIs in 119 games. He was a September call-up and collected six hits in 25 at-bats.

In the upcoming spring training, Montanez impressed then manager Frank Lucchesi, and he surprised everyone by naming him the starting center fielder.

Montanez responded with a 30-homer, 99 RBI, .225 season, and he was the runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year. His 30 homers as a rookie is still a club record.

In 1971, the Phillies outfield was Montanez, Oscar Gamble and Roger Freed.

Not A Fan: A recent Times News Sports Facebook poll posed the question if you were comfortable with the outfield of Garcia, Marsh, and Crawford.

Well, there is some unrest.

Eighty percent weren’t, and two percent were. As they say, we’ll see what happens.

In The Same Boat: While the Phillies are dealing with the Crawford situation, the Yankees and Mets have parallels.

The Yankees have to decide how to handle 23-year-old Jasson Dominguez and 24-year-old prospect Spencer Jones. Luckily for the Yanks, it has been a pleasant problem to have this spring.

For several years, Dominguez was a hot outfielder prospect in the Yankees’ system, and the Yankees were confident the switch hitter would have a breakout year last season. Instead, the left fielder hit 10 homers, had 47 RBIs and hit .257. However, he also hit all of his homers left-handed.

The Yankees have a better feeling this year. In his first four spring games, Dominguez hit .417 with a homer and five RBIs. He likely will pen in left field, but the Yanks also have the multi-positional Cody Bellinger back.

Jones took the cover off the ball last season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he hit a combined 35 homers at Double- and Triple-A.

Like Dominguez, Jones got off to a torrid spring start, hitting three homers in his first four games. He has played center field and been a DH, and it might be tough to keep him off the opening day roster.

Yet, there is an ongoing feeling that Jones will open the season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and be a quick phone call away.

The Mets are looking to top prospect 22-year-old Carson Benge to open the season in right field.

But Benge has only been in their system since 2023, and he played only 24 games at Triple-A Syracuse and hit .178. Overall, he hit .281 with 15 homers, 73 RBIs and stole 22 bases at the Single, Double- and Triple-A level over 116 games.

The Mets are working infielder Brett Baty in right field as backup, but they are counting on Benge winning the job.

To help their outfield depth, the Mets did sign veteran and ex-Yankee Mike Tauchman, who has had a fast start. If Baty doesn’t look like a right fielder, Tauchman will be a suitable fill-in.

Going Shopping: If the Phillies decide to explore the free-agent market as an option for depth, the shelves are pretty empty.

You can bring back Max Kepler, who was a nearly full-season flop until he had a late-season surge. In an earlier column, I suggested bringing back ex-Phillies Andrew McCutcheon, who at 39 would still be a good clubhouse presence and maybe provide some spark.

Other than that, there’s ex-33-year-old Met Jessie Winker, Tommy Pham (38), Jason Hayward (36), Alex Verdugo (30), and once hot Red Sox prospect Manuel Margot (31).

More Flop Than Flip: Some of the noted Phillies outfield prospects who flopped over the years were Jeff Stone, Mike Anderson, Dylan Cozens, Scott Kingery, Mickey Moniak, Nick Williams, Aaron Altheer, Roman Quinn, and Dominic Brown.

Readers Write:

Some Big Ifs

Dear Jeff,

I am only comfortable with the Phillies current outfield if Marsh produces like he did from May-September, if Crawford hits like he did with the IronPigs, and if Garcia hits like he did a few years ago.

Melissa Hager

Lehighton

Stay the Course

Dear Jeff,

We have a good club.

Ray Bungle

Tamaqua

Trivia Answer: Greg Luzinski made his major league debut at age 19 on Sept. 9, 1970. He struck out as a pinch hitter.

That Lasting Call: Umpire Bruce Froemming, who had a 37-year career, passed away recently at age 86.

Froemming was the first-based umpire who called the Dodger’s Davey Lopes safe when he was apparently out in the infamous “Black Friday” game in 1977.

Lopes hit a grounder that caromed off third baseman Mike Schmidt to shortstop Larry Bowa who fired the ball to first baseman Richie Hebner.

Your thoughts are always welcomed and will be published; email them tnsports@tnoline.com.