Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Continue Experimenting With Dramatic Lineup Changes

The Philadelphia Phillies have been testing out a new batting order in spring training.

Tyler Maher

Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) hits a single in the third inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS.
Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) hits a single in the third inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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Spring training is a time for experimentation, even for veteran teams like the Philadelphia Phillies. Since the games don't matter, it's the perfect opportunity to learn a new pitch, tinker with a swing or change positions.

The stakes are low, so there's no downside.

If something doesn't work, no harm, no foul.

If something does click, however, players can carry their new skills into the season and potentially improve as ballplayers.

Managers can experiment, too, and that's what Rob Thomson seems to be doing with the Phillies' lineup.

Despite having many of the same players as last year, Philadelphia's batting order has looked considerably different this spring.

The biggest change has been moving Trea Turner up to leadoff and moving Kyle Schwarber down to the cleanup spot.

Schwarber has been the team's primary leadoff man since joining the Phillies in 2022, which always seemed a bit unusual. With his power, frequent strikeouts and lack of speed, he profiles as a traditional middle-of-the-order slugger.

Meanwhile, Turner was mostly a leadoff hitter before coming to Philadelphia in 2023. He initially led off to start the season, but was quickly dropped to the two-hole and has mostly remained there since.

With his elite speed and contact skills, Turner is better-suited for batting first than Schwarber.

The lineup shuffling has affected Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm as well.

Harper has moved up from third to second, which is where teams should bat their best hitter according to sabermetrics. After hitting mostly cleanup last year, Bohm's been batting third.

The Phillies already had a great offense last year, ranking fifth in MLB in scoring.

They've been even better during spring training, perhaps thanks to Thomson's lineup tweaks.

Bohm and Harper have been great, but Schwarber and Turner are struggling.

If their slumps continue, Thomson may need to consider going back to the old batting order.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler is a writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. He grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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