Philadelphia Phillies: Experience the duality of Alec Bohm

Saying that Alec Bohm‘s night didn’t quite start off as planned in the Philadelphia Phillies‘ first game of the season versus the New York Mets would be an understatement.

It all started on the sixth pitch of the game, where Bohm,  earning his second start at third base in four games, recorded a throwing error on a routine play that allowed lead-off hitter Brandon Nimmo to advance to third base on a single by Starling Marte.

An ideal way to start the inning? Hardly, but hey, it was certainly not the only issue the Phillies found themselves having in the first inning of action, as Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate down 3-0 after Pete Alonso grounded out for a sacrifice RBI, Eduardo Escobar picked up an RBI of his own on a single out to right, and Mark Canha made it three with a single of his own to right field.

If that was where Bohm left his rough night, this probably wouldn’t be a story. The Phillies will record a whole lot more errors before the season comes to an end, so this one would ultimately prove rather insignificant in the grand scheme of a 162 game season.

… but then Bohm did it again, twice more actually, first in the second inning on another throwing error and then again at the top of the third when Bohm whiffed on a throw that allowed Pete Alonso to safely make it to first.

The fans in attendance were both passive-aggressive and aggressive-aggressive in a way only Philly fans are able to be, and Bohm let out his frustrations with a comment caught by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s camera operator that may or may not have been safe for work, depending on how you read his lip movements.

Needless to say, the calls to bench, cut, or personally drive Bohm to the airport came loud and proud, and the narrative that the third-overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft just wasn’t a big-league player was pushed hard, but therein lies the problem: For how bad Bohm has been in the field, he’s actually been a very good offensive player, having made it on base in every at-bat he’s taken so far this season, including two walks, a double, and a run in his three at-bats versus the Mets.

What are the Philadelphia Phillies supposed to do about someone who is firmly a one-way player?

The Philadelphia Phillies need to settle on a role for Alec Bohm.

In Alec Bohm’s perfect world, he would be the Philadelphia Phillies’ DH.

While he would maybe play some third base here and there or try his hand in the outfield if need be, Bohm would spend most of any given game hanging out in the dugout, waiting for an opportunity to go to the plate and do his part in putting points on the board. Granted, teams are usually more inclined to stash a power hitter like Rhys Hoskins in the DH spot than an all-around hitter like Bohm, who only has 11 home runs in his career over 603 at-bats, but hey, we’re talking about a perfect world, so why let that get in the way?

In reality, however, it’s hard to see Bohm getting more than a few opportunities to fill the DH role this season, as the Phillies paid Nick Castellanos a whole lot of money to predominantly fill that role over the next four seasons and would probably designate everyone from Kyle Schwarmer, Bryce Harper, and even Hoskins just to hit in games where the one-time Silver Slugger is unable to go.

So what are the Phillies to do? Bohm is easily one of their top-9 best offensive players and easily not one of their top-9 defensive players. Should they wean off of the Wichita State product in favor of rookie Bryson Stott, or hope that Bohm is able to get it together and become a serviceable defensive player like Hoskins – if you want to call him that – before him?

Fortunately – or not, depending on your preference – it’ll probably be a little bit of both. Stott will likely start some games, as he did on opening day, Bohm will start others, and if he struggles,
Johan Camargo will come into the game for some added defense and a veteran presence. Until one of the three players outright wins the full-time starting spot, or in Bohm’s case, outright loses it, a platoon at third base it will likely be.

It’s really hard to evaluate Alec Bohm’s impact on the Philadelphia Phillies’ fourth game of the season. His three errors in the first third of the game unquestionably led to points going on the board for the New York Mets, and one could argue that the Phillies don’t rally in the eighth inning to a 5-4 lead without Bohm getting walked and then turning on the burners as a baserunner. Therein lies the duality of Bohm; he’s too good on offense to outright bench and too bad on defense to not hold your breath when the ball goes his way, even on the most routine of plays.