Despite winning the National League East for the first time since 2011 and reaching the MLB postseason for the third year in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies are eyeing a shakeup, and that could mean trading slugger Alec Bohm.
Bohm had the best season of his career at 28 years old, but the third baseman is on the Phillies' trading block, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Passan published his 2024-25 offseason preview on Tuesday, and included a nugget describing how the Phillies feel about Bohm.
“While he was a well-above-average hitter — .280/.332/.448 with 61 extra-base hits — his first-half OPS was nearly 150 points higher than in the second half, and the Phillies are looking to shake up their team after a disappointing postseason ouster by the Mets,” Passan explained.
Yes, Bohm's post-All-Star slump was real and it carried into the postseason. In the Phillies' four-game Division Series loss to the New York Mets, he went 1-13 with a walk in 14 plate appearances. Manager Rob Thomson even benched him for Game 2.
If the Phillies trade Bohm, it's not clear who they would replace him with; internal options aren't terribly sexy and the third base free agent market isn't deep. They could go after Alex Bregman, but if they miss on him, no one else available offers a clear upgrade to Bohm.
Assessing Phillies 3B Alec Bohm's trade value
Bohm comes with two years of team control remaining and an arbitration estimate in 2025 of $8.1 million, per Spotrac. Even with has late-season swoon, that makes him an incredible value if he can keep producing at an above average level.
So if the Phillies trade Bohm, it won't be because he's getting too expensive. Philadelphia boasted a payroll north of $240 million in 2024 and that number will likely increase next year. Team owner John Middleton has already said he would be willing to go north of the highest level of the competitive balance tax to field a winning team.
Bohm also still has a high upside. A second-half slump — that still wasn't even that bad (.251/.299/.382) — doesn't discount a first half that landed him on the National League All-Star team. Over his first 94 games, he slashed .295/.348/.482 with 11 home runs.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski gave Bohm his vote of confidence shortly after their season ended.
“He's a really good player. He's knocked in almost 100 runs two years in a row, he's one of the top hitters in the league, he's improved defensively,” he said. “He had an outstanding first half of the season and not a very good — not an Alec Bohm second half. But overall, he is a really good player.”
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