Is Bohm's Hot Bat Pushing Hoskins out the Door?

The bats have begun to heat up, but it's clear defense will not be in this teams vocabulary. What does the future look like for the poster child of the Phillies' defensive struggles in Alec Bohm?

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It doesn’t take a highly trained scouting eye to see what the Philadelphia Phillies have in Alec Bohm. Armed with a special bat, Bohm looks destined to provide key hits in Citizens Bank Park, whether it’s his happy place or not.

Bohm also embodies Philadelphia’s personnel strategy from this offseason, offense first, defense second, then pray the defense isn’t as bad as it appears on paper. So far, the paper has been spot on.

As the team leader in errors, Bohm has caught the brunt of the criticism. These struggles have left some pondering as to Bohm’s future within the organization. At this point, is he auditioning for other teams? If not, who exactly is he battling for a spot in the lineup?

As a young hitter until team control, it seems like malpractice to move him. Considering the already team-record in payroll, pre-arbitration contributors should be held at a premium.

With Bohm seemingly here for the long haul, that leaves the question of where to play him. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos are all locked up through at least the next three seasons following the 2022 campaign. 

One of the three corner outfielders will be entrenched in the designated hitter role for nearly every game for the foreseeable future. In effect, this eliminates the possibility of Bohm filling this role.

The next option would be leaving him at third base and hoping for the best. Despite recent improvement following his three-error game, it is clear he is not a natural at the hot corner. This leaves one position left: first base.

First base is currently occupied by fan-favorite Rhys Hoskins. However, Hoskins presents a difficult choice upcoming for President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski. The 2023 season represents the last arbitration year for the slugging first baseman. Following this season, the Phillies will either have to pay Hoskins or risk losing him for nothing in free agency.

In terms of budgeting, the edge goes to Bohm as the long-term first baseman. In his second to last year of arbitration, Hoskins is making $7.7 million compared to the $715,000 of Bohm in 2022. 

To put things in perspective of how much free agency inflates contracts, Odúbel Herrera makes over double Bohm’s salary at $1.75 million. Once other teams get involved, Hoskins’ yearly salary is sure to inflate.

From the standpoint of best utilizing assets, trading Hoskins after this season provides an opportunity to build up organizational depth while freeing up an infield spot for a two-way player on the left side of the diamond.

While budgets and gaining assets in return are always important, on-field play is most imperative. From a defensive standpoint, the two are a wash as both represent net negatives. Though an excellent on-base player, Hoskins has fallen victim to lengthy slumps after his rookie year.

Over a combined 203 games in his first two seasons, Hoskins swatted 52 homeruns, a whopping 43% of his career total. Since then, he has been plagued by injuries and ice-cold slumps.

Meanwhile, Bohm has bounced back from his sophomore slump to be one of the brightest spots among this lineup. He is third on the team in RBI, yet doesn’t even have enough plate appearances to qualify for the team lead in average and OBP. Had he qualified, he would be leading both categories with .322 and .380, respectively.

Given all this information, the choice seems clear. The best way to revamp the organization with young talent, put their current young talent in the best position to succeed, and improve the defense is to part with Hoskins this offseason. Philadelphia has steered fully into the all-hitting, no defense mentality and it seems Hoskins may have to be the one to pay the price of its shortcomings.

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