The pieces to the Philadelphia Phillies' 2026 outfield puzzle appear to have dropped.

Nick Castellanos no longer fits. Adolis García will start in right field. Prospect Justin Crawford will be given the opportunity to be part of the starting outfield. Brandon Marsh will platoon with a right-handed bat.

"With the signing here, we look at [García] being our right fielder, and we're in a position where, basically, we're pretty well set out there," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said during a Zoom press conference Tuesday.

Dombrowski mentioned Otto Kemp, Johan Rojas and prospect Gabriel Rincones as backup outfield candidates.

Phillies view García as their everyday right fielder

The Phillies made the García signing official Tuesday. The 32-year-old will replace Castellanos in right field. Castellanos has one year left on the five-year contract he signed in 2022, but the club is expected to trade or release him by spring training.

García joins the Phillies after he was non-tendered by the Texas Rangers last month.

After setting a playoff record with 22 RBIs and leading the Rangers to a World Series championship in 2023, García declined during the past two seasons. Last season, he posted a career-low .665 OPS with 19 home runs and 75 RBIs with the Rangers.

"We're signing him, in our view, to be our everyday right fielder," Dombrowski said, "but he needs to show that. As he knows, he has to be in a position where he performs, and he's aware of that. We think he can do it."

The Phillies are betting on García having a bounce-back season in 2026. García signed the same contract that Philadelphia signed Max Kepler to last December in a similar situation. That bet didn't hit, though Kepler did settle into a platoon role in the second half.

Dombrowski and Phillies manager Rob Thomson both alluded to García's approach, not ability, as being the culprit behind the last two seasons. Thomson said his message to García was to get back to the basics and control the strike zone better.

"You have to be yourself, relax, have fun, be yourself," Thomson said. "Don't try to do too much because we have a lot of really good players around him."

Crawford expected to start somewhere in the outfield

One of the other takeaways Tuesday was that the Phillies appear set on giving Crawford, their 2022 first-round pick, a runway to prove himself at the MLB level in 2026.

Dombrowski said the Phillies plan to have Crawford as part of their starting outfield next season, likely in center field. He noted that Crawford can also play left field, but the club believes the 21-year-old can handle center in the majors.

"If you're going to give Crawford an opportunity, you've got to give it to him, and that's where we are," Dombrowski said. "We're going to give him the opportunity out there and have a chance to play a lot. Basically, we think our outfield is pretty well set."

Crawford quickly acclimated himself at Triple-A in 2025. All the Phillies' 2022 first-round pick did with the IronPigs was hit. He hit .334 with a .863 OPS and 46 stolen bases in 112 games with Lehigh Valley last season.

He was reportedly close to getting the call to The Show several times last season. Then, the Phillies acquired Harrison Bader at the trade deadline, and Crawford's debut was put on hold. Bader is a free agent and appears unlikely to return to Philadelphia.

"With young players, you have to give them the opportunity. People may say, well, this vs. that, and he's not as good as this vs. that, but until you put him out there, you really don't know," Dombrowski said. "But we think he's going to be very good. We think he's going to be a really good player. He adds some real speed to our ballclub. He makes contact. Just a lot of good things about him."

Thomson said he called Crawford Monday night to let him know the García signing does not impact his chances at making the club next season.

"I knew he was going to hear about the Adolis deal, and being a young kid, I just wanted to reiterate that he's coming into camp to win a job," Thomson said. "Signing Adolis does not affect Justin at all. I want him to come into camp and be himself, and if he is himself, he'll make this club."