February 20, 2025
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm runs fielding drills down in Clearwater.
The pressure is on. After two straight playoff implosions in 2023 and 2024 — following a World Series loss in 2022 — the Phillies are running it back and are hoping to prove that their highly paid and highly talented roster has what it takes to be champions.
Philly will enter 2025 with the fourth-best World Series odds, behind the juggernaut Dodgers, Yankees and division rival Braves. They are tied with another rival in the Mets (at +1100 via FanDuel).
The NL East will be a fierce division this summer, but the Phillies believe they have what it takes to defend that title.
As we do every season, as players work out and play exhibition games in Clearwater, we'll check in and tell you the prognosis and expectations for every position.
Today's look is at third base and a polarizing Alec Bohm...
OK, let's talk about Alec Bohm.
His first half of 2024 was All-Star worthy, and seemed like a career breakthrough. His second half slipped, quietly at first, but then pretty noticeably by the end, and in the playoffs, he imploded, along with the rest of the Phils.
Fans left the NLDS angry, and they left it wanting change after three years of taking further steps down the postseason ladder, but had limited options for where they could direct their ire.
Bryce Harper wasn't going anywhere, and neither was Trea Turner, or Nick Castellanos, or J.T. Realmuto, or Kyle Schwarber.
Bohm had a bad series, got notably benched for Game 2, and by comparison, seemed the most easily expendable.
So trade rumors flew through the winter, available names like Nolan Arenado and Alex Bregman got tossed around, and at the winter meetings, Phillies manager Rob Thomson did confirm to MLB Network that they were getting offseason calls about Bohm, but weren't actively shopping him.
Kyle Ross/Imagn ImagesAlec Bohm slams his bat after striking out against the Cubs in late September last season.
The heat died down a bit once it became clear that the Phillies were set to run it back with what they mostly had, and Bohm reported to Clearwater just like he has for the past few years, with an endorsement from Thomson.
"I talked to him yesterday, and a bunch of coaches were around him for a long time with [Bobby Dickerson] and [Paco Figueroa], getting ground balls, and they said he's so positive," Thomson said at the start of spring training last week, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. "Seems like a different guy, like he's grown up again.
"He's grown up so much since we first brought him to the big leagues, and now it looks like he's taking another step, so I'm really excited to see what he can do."
But the sting from how last year ended is still there, so scrutiny for any error or struggle is going to come quick.
"I definitely feel like I've experienced a lot in my short time here, but, I mean, I think it's all for the better," Bohm said, also via NBC Sports Philly. "It just hardens you a little bit and keeps your head screwed on straight."
Overall last season, Bohm slashed .280/.332/.448 with 15 home runs, 97 runs batted in, and a team-leading 44 doubles, which also led the National League among third basemen.
His fielding won't ever be the source for many headlines, but he's certainly developed into a much better glove at the hot corner than a couple of years ago. "I f---ing hate this place" was the real turning point for that.
Consistency is going to be Bohm's biggest point of emphasis this season, though, making sure he can take a great first half like he had last year and sustain it the whole way through.
"Making those lows not as low," Thomson said. "Everybody's gonna go through tough times, it's making sure those tough times don't last as long as they have."
In MLB Network's annual "Top 10 Players Right Now" rankings for each position, six names out of the NL made the cut at third base: San Diego's Manny Machado at 4, Atlanta's Austin Riley at 5, San Francisco's Matt Chapman at 6, St. Louis' Nolan Arenado at 7, Los Angeles' Max Muncy at 8, and Arizona's Eugenio Suárez at 10.
Bohm didn't make the list, but with last year's numbers and 2025 projections via baseball-reference, here's how he stacks up against those NL third basemen in the top 10 field:
| Team | Players (age) | Top 10 Rk | 2024 stats | 2025 proj. | 2024 WAR |
| Phillies | Alec Bohm (28) | N/A | .280/.332/.448 15 HR, 44 2B, 97 RBI | .273/.324/.428 15 HR, 31 2B, 81 RBI | 3.0 |
| Padres | Manny Machado (32) | 4 | .275/.325/.472 29 HR, 30 2B, 105 RBI | .269/.329/.466 26 HR, 26 2B, 88 RBI | 3.1 |
| Braves | Austin Riley (27) | 5 | .256/.322/.461 19 HR, 26 2B, 56 RBI | .269/.336/.492 24 HR, 25 2B, 65 RBI | 2.9 |
| Giants | Matt Chapman (31) | 6 | .247/.328/.463 27 HR, 39 2B, 78 RBI | .240/.324/.439 22 HR, 32 2B, 65 RBI | 7.1 |
| Cardinals | Nolan Arenado (33) | 7 | .272/.325/.394 16 HR, 23 2B, 71 RBI | .267/.324/.440 21 HR, 26 2B, 77 RBI | 2.5 |
| Dodgers | Max Muncy (34) | 8 | .232/.358/.494 15 HR, 17 2B, 48 RBI | .216/.330/.438 19 HR, 16 2B, 60 RBI | 3.0 |
| D-backs | Eugenio Suárez (33) | 10 | .256/.319/.469 30 HR, 28 2B, 101 RBI | .240/.318/.429 24 HR, 24 2B, 83 RBI | 3.1 |
Keep in mind that Riley and Muncy both lost significant time last season due to injury. Otherwise, outside of a few differences in home run power and Chapman's major hold over wins above replacement, Bohm can hang in there, even with his rough finish to the season included.
Now, that wasn't what a lot of fans wanted to read or hear about at the end of October, but the reality is there really wasn't much of a route for the Phillies to upgrade at third base.
Playoff frustration aside, the Phillies already quietly had one of the NL's better ones at the position in Bohm.
But here's the thing: better, and younger, might be on the way.
For now, third base for the Phillies looks like Bohm as the starter, and then their main utility man Edmundo Sosa as the backup on days when Bohm is either off, injured, or filling in at first base.
Down the line, Bohm will be a free agent after 2026, and by then, top prospect Aidan Miller is expected to be either on the big league roster or close to it.
Miller is listed as a shortstop right now, but can be put at third base, and might have to be if Trea Turner isn't being considered for a position switch away from short when Miller is major-league ready.
The 27th overall draft pick from 2023 progressed up to Double-A Reading by the end of last season as a 20-year-old prospect, and could possibly be someone the Phillies try to accelerate through the farm system as long as he can keep up.
Bohm can definitely contribute more to the Phillies' lineup right now, but with his free agency on the horizon and a prized prospect right behind him, he might be setting up to become the bridge to Miller, too.
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