Phillies stay or go: Alec Bohm

Why he should stay?

Bohm is a homegrown first-round pick who has carried his weight — most of the time — on offense this season for the Phillies. Take a look at his ranks among all 389 (not all of them qualified) National League hitters from the 2024 season:

Bohm had a career-high 117 OPS+ in 2024, but was much better in the first half of the season, and was not hitting well after his late season hand injury.

Clearly there is plenty of value there for the 28 year old to remain with the Phillies. He is a very good hitter, though the power stroke hasn't developed like many have hoped as he had just 15 homers last season.

On a team with skyrocketing salaries, Bohm is estimated to earn around $8 million next year under arbitration. He will have one year remaining of team control in 2026 where he'll likely earn less than market value again. That alone might be enough for the Phillies to roll the dice with him yet again.

It might be in the team's best interest to hope that top prospect Aidan Miller (just 20) is able to make the leap to the majors in one or two seasons, taking the reigns from Bohm when he hits free agency. 

Unless the Phillies are willing to take a gigantic swing at Alex Bregman this winter, there aren't any real upgrades available on the open market. 

Why he should go?

Let's start with the playoffs. He went 1-for-13. Not good. It's a small sample size but Bohm was in a slump for a lot of the second half of September and the timing definitely hurt his standing with the team and with the fans. It is worth noting that he has a .214 batting average in 34 career postseason games. 

Lacking a ton of areas where they can actually upgrade on the roster, the third base situation could be one that deserves some attention. With veterans at every position under contract for hundreds of millions of dollars, Bohm's cheap contract could make him moveable as a trade asset.

The main shortcoming for Bohm is that he is one of the least talented defensive third baseman in baseball. According to a bevy of different measurements via baseball reference, Bohm ranks near the bottom in some advanced categories. Exactly 210 ballplayers played at least one defensive inning at third base. Some numbers:

• Bohm was worth -1 runs above average at third, the 110th best in the majors
• He had a neutral 0 runs saved above average, improved from -10 runs saved last year
• He was worth 3 runs when a baseball was hit to him at third base, 16th best
• He rated -2 on good plays-misplayed ball ratio, the third worst
• His throws from third base saved -3 runs this season, 162nd 
• He had 14 errors, the second most in the majors

His weakness as a defender doesn't always show up in the stat sheet, but it does not pass the eye test. He did improve, as hard as that is to believe, from 2023. Will he continue to get better at the hot corner?

One could argue that a player more adept to making difficult plays in the infield could have helped the Phillies advance in the playoffs, as he missed a few big opportunities to turn double plays or cleanly field baseballs against the Mets in the NLDS.

The main question Phillies management will need to deal with was whether his offense — he came in second in the league in doubles and hit .280 with 97 RBI while making his first All-Star team — makes up for his liability at third.