This could be a busy offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies, who are running out of time to crack the World Series code with their core. They’re sending more than a handful of players into free agency, including longtime third baseman Alec Bohm.
As was the case for the Phillies at large, it was a disappointing season for Bohm. His defense regressed, and his offensive production backtracked. His .698 OPS was the second-worst of his career. Ditto for his minus-0.2 wins above replacement.
With that decline in mind, one executive wondered whether Bohm “may prefer to rebuild his value on a one-year ‘prove-it’ deal,” per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. “He will likely have multi-year offers that may be accompanied by lower [annual average values] than he would like, so it may boil down to what he’s prioritizing.”
Bohm could be a candidate for relocation, since the Phillies may run short on infield openings with prospects on the rise and other, more powerful free agents perhaps holding their attention. It certainly seemed at least farewell-adjacent when Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at his season-ending press conference that “if he is not back with us, those 90 runs he drives in every year will be missed, and we’ll have to pick it up in other ways.”
Prediction: Bohm signs with the St. Louis Cardinals.