In recent remarks to the media, Phillies President Dave Dombrowski made it clear the door was closed on a big, splashy move to upgrade the defending NL East champs. But maybe there's a window still open a crack.
Phillies insider Jim Salisbury — appearing on his podcast "The Phillies Show" on Monday — said that what he has heard is different. According to Salisbury, Alec Bohm is still available in trades, and the team is still considering making an upgrade at third base.
After being asked about a late offseason move — in the mold of when they added Nick Castellanos a few seasons ago — Salisbury said:
"I think their ears are still wide open on Alec Bohm. Some of that could shake out or maybe become more of a topic when [Alex] Bregman finds his landing spot. But then the [Nolan] Arenado piece is there. That whole third base thing, there seems to still be moving parts. But I think Bohm could be part of it, but I’m also very comfortable having him back. I think all these trade discussions, if he’s a competitor, it should really motivate him. He’s two years away from free agency. He’s a very good player. No rush to move him, but I think their ears are continually open on that. So I don’t know where that’s going to go." [The Phillies Show]
Bohm has been the subject of trade rumors all winter, with reports first making it seem like his bring traded was a foregone conclusion before the team eventually shut those down right around the Winter Meetings.
It's reasonably possible that both Bregman and Arenado are still undecided in a month, and pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater for the Phils on Feb 12. For various reasons, MLB offseasons drag on much slower than the other major sports do. Bryce Harper waited quite a while before he chose Philadelphia back in 2019.
So while the odds are probably still low that the Phillies would make such a franchise-altering move, the team's roster is not set until they unpack their lockers in Florida next month.
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