Last week, it was reported by Matt Gelb of The Athletic that the Phils were giving some thought to trading outfielder Nick Castellanos, infielder Alec Bohm, prospect Justin Crawford or left-hander Ranger Suárez as they look to shake up their roster. Today, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports along similar lines, noting that the club is making Bohm available and is expected to look to free agents Alex Bregman or Willy Adames if they succeed in trading Bohm.
As the Phils look to make some changes, they only have so many avenues. Many of their position players are expensive veterans who are entrenched on the roster, either due to their performance, their contracts or both.
Bohm, on the other hand, is still in his arbitration years, slated for free agency after 2026. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $8.1MM next year and Bohm would be due another raise for 2026.
On top of that, his performance has been more good than great. To this point in his career, he has a batting line of .277/.327/.416. That translates to a 103 wRC+, indicating he’s been 3% better than the league average hitter. He did have a 115 wRC+ in 2024, but in lopsided fashion, with a 128 in the first half and a 90 in the second. Also, most of his damage has been done with the platoon advantage. He has a career 135 wRC+ against lefties in his career but a subpar 91 wRC+ against righties.
Defensively, he hasn’t been great overall, though he has shown signs of improvement. Defensive Runs Saved gave him a grade of -46 over the first four years of his career but then had him at league average in 2024. Outs Above Average had Bohm in negative territory from 2020 to 2022 but slightly better than par in the past two years.
Overall, he’s been a useful player but something below a star, and either Bregman or Adames could be seen as a clear upgrade. Bregman has hit .272/.366/.483 in his career for a 135 wRC+ and has been a considered a strong defender at third base to boot. Adames has hit .248/.322/.444 for a 109 wRC+ in his career while providing strong shortstop defense, but he’s reportedly willing to move to other infield positions. Most shortstops are capable of moving to other spots on the infield fairly smoothly, so it’s possible the Phils would expect Adames to provide better glovework than Bohm, even though it would be a new position for him.
Enacting these moves would have complications. Bohm’s modest projected salary is far less than what Bregman or Adames are likely to earn on their respective contracts. MLBTR predicted Bregman for $182MM and Adames for $160MM over six years, both for average annual values in the $26-27MM range.
The payroll could be a notable story for the Phils this offseason. Chairman John Middleton has said he expects payroll to go up but it already has, in a way. RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of $263MM next year, which is $15MM higher than 2024 before they’ve even made any moves.
Their $282MM competitive balance tax number is already projected to be above the third tier of penalization. As a third-time payor, that means they are already looking at a 95% tax on any money they add up to the final line of $301MM. Anything they add beyond that line would have a 110% tax rate.
Swapping in Bregman or Adames for Bohm would make those numbers go up but it seems the Phils have at least some hope of making up the difference elsewhere. Nightengale notes that they have tried to use Bohm and Crawford to pry Garrett Crochet loose from the White Sox. Crochet had a massive breakout in 2024, tossing 146 innings with a 3.58 earned run average, 35.1% strikeout rate, 5.5% walk rate and 45.1% ground ball rate.
That performance will make Crochet very popular on the trade market, but so will his salary. Since he spent the early parts of his career either injured or working out of the bullpen, he’s only projected for a $2.9MM salary in 2025, with one more arb pass after that. The Phils have a strong rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Suárez and Taijuan Walker, but Walker has fallen out of favor with the club, getting kicked to the bullpen for a time in 2024. Andrew Painter could be a factor in 2025 but he’s a big unknown since he still hasn’t made his major league debut and is coming back from a long Tommy John surgery layoff.
It would obviously be a wonderful series of chess moves if the Phillies could use Bohm to add a cheap ace to their rotation, perhaps finding a way to unload the two years and $36MM left on Walker’s contract, and then use the cost savings to get a star like Bregman or Adames to replace Bohm at third.
However, doing all of that would require the agreement of other teams. Bohm’s trade value won’t be that high on account of his aforementioned deficiencies. Nightengale adds that the Sox are worried by Bohm’s performance in the second half of 2024. He also wouldn’t have much value to the Sox anyway, since his control window is so short. After Chicago’s record-breaking loss tally in 2024, it’s hard to envision them return to contention in Bohm’s two remaining years of club control. The Phils might have to include some more prospect talent to get a deal done, which they might not want to do right now, given how much of the roster is filled with expensive veterans.
A far simpler outcome for Bregman would just be to re-sign with the Astros, where he has spent his entire career so far. It’s a far simpler fit and the two sides seemingly have had mutual interest in signing a new deal for years, but nothing has come together thus far.
It seems there might be a bit of a gap in terms of the financials, with Nightengale reporting that Houston wants Bregman back on a deal of about $156MM over six years but Bregman is looking to get to the $200MM line. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported last week that the Astros have made an offer to Bregman. It’s unknown what they put on the table but the fact that he hasn’t yet accepted it suggests that it wasn’t up to his expectations. General manager Dana Brown has suggested the club might need to be creative with the budget this offseason but owner Jim Crane has suggested there’s money available for the right players and all signs have pointed to Bregman being the club’s highest priority.
Bregman has also been connected to the Tigers and Red Sox in the past week, with the latter club considering a move to first base for Rafael Devers, in order to accommodate Bregman. Adames has also been connected to the Red Sox, in addition to the Astros, Atlanta, Blue Jays and Giants. Both players rejected qualifying offers and would be subject to associated penalties, unless they re-sign with their respective 2024 clubs.
For the Phils, since they paid the CBT in 2024, they would have to forfeit $1MM of international bonus pool space as well as their second- and fifth-best picks in the upcoming draft if they sign a player that rejected a qualifying offer. The Astros wouldn’t forfeit anything, apart from the compensation pick they stand to receive if Bregman goes elsewhere, which would come after the fourth round of the upcoming draft.
All bad ideas. Phillies need to keep young position players not sign overpriced players and certainly don’t need to waste prospects on Crochet. If going to make a change just to do something then fire the bad coaching staff and sign Tanner Scott.
DD is a one trick pony. His only solution is to spend in free agency and once he’s against the luxury tax he bails on the team. Most overrated gm in the history of baseball and it’s not close.
The only reason you even know his name is because of his track record. His one trick is vastly improving teams for owners that will pay to win. No he will not turn the Mariners or Rays into a dynasty. Can’t deny his well-earned legacy.
He got us 2018 but with the amount of money he spends, he should be doing better. He’s a win now GM, that’s it.
His one trick is vastly improving teams for owners that will pay to win.
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That’s exactly what ThatsIT? posted.
Dombrowski’s approach is pretty good for the right team. There’s a reason he keeps getting hired. The phils have a pretty decent farm, and some real contributors acquired by draft and trade in addition to the fa signees. The giants would probably have been better off with dombrowski than Farhan in recent years for example.
@Thats DD built the 97 World Seriea winning Marlins team from literally nothing. He then went on to rebuild Tigers a team that at start of his time there had worst season in franchise history with the roster he inherited. Within 3 years he transformed that roster into a World Series team. So he is by no means a one trick pony.
After turning those 2 teams around he was receiving offers from teams where he was coming into talent opposed to having to start from the bottom. Both Sox and Phillies were at a point where spending and trading for talent was where they were at.
He has depleted farm systems, but contending teams are trying to win now and most often that means leveraging future talent. Yes it seems as he left young talent voids in his wake, but that wasn’t his intent. He left Marlins for Tigers as Mike Illitch sold him on joining an owner who was willing to put in nearly whatever it took to to rebuild and was a far better situation. He left Tigers when after almost 10 years of contending was nearing an end and change seemed inevitable. The Sox welcomed him with open arms when he became available.
As for leaving the Sox, I’m not sure what happened there. It seemed him and the owner had 2 different visions. Not retaining talent after winning World Series I think put the 2 at odds and he moved on.
so you want them to run back out the same team and only add tanner scott? i thnk they need to change this team up a little and if you need to give up a prospect you do it because they are just that, prospects. You dont know ithey are going to pan out.
Really don’t want them near Crochet. Guy seems like he is awful clubhouse dude.
I just don’t understand the hype machine in July after a meer 4 month in the starting rotation and even now for him with only 200ip over 4 seasons. Perhaps his agent has an incredible PR division.
Perhaps his agent has an incredible PR division.
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It depends on your assessment of his injury. Plenty of guys recover from TJS, though Crochet’s has had other problems.
There was another pitcher in the AL that had TJS, and then had flexor tendon repair, and still managed to win the CY award. And another pitcher who had TJS and threw 151 innings in four years, and he too won the CY this year
If I were the RS, I’d have the best doctors in the business examine him. And if they are okay with his elbow and shoulder check out, I’d not only trade for him, I’d extend him.
Honestly this sounds like a typical, ‘plant story’ by Nightengale – on behalf of his good friend chairman Reinsdorf.
I’m an accountant. I go strictly by numbers. Crochet is undoubtedly an injury risk, but his Apr-Jun numbers were insane. Take these three pitchers for Apr-Jun
Pitcher A-101 IPs 141/20 K/W 10 HRs 2.38 FIP
Pitcher B-97 IPs 112/19 K/W 8 HRs 2.70 FIP
Pitcher C-94 IPs 118/17 K/W 7 HRs 2.32 FIP
All three are almost identical, and two of those guys won a Cy Young award. Again, injuries, but guys like this are extremely rare.
philliesfan215;
Where did you hear that?
Most of the Sox players loved playing with the guy.
Huh? Crochet is one of the best pitchers in baseball and a top ten (at least) value proposition, and I’ve never heard he was a bad dude.
I think it’s b/c some may view him as a diva since it got out that he wanted an extension to pitch in the playoffs, as he got used to having his Octobers free playing in Chi-town. He’s a 21 y/o pre-arb dude and the only ammunition he has is when someone puts a mic in front of him.
He’s 25, and he’s lost seasons and earnings due to injury. This was the season where they had to manage his innings as part of his recovery. If he was traded to, say, the Yankees, they could have pitched their way to a WS, perhaps, but driven his arm into a coffin (they’re kinda known for that). He did nothing wrong- his agent leaked that he would ask for an extension (supposedly).
@Phllies I’m assuming you’re clubhouse comment is based upon his trying to leverage an extension if traded last season. Considering he was already at a career high workload and the simple fact it was leverage that was available, can you blame him? If he was on a free agent deal that he agreed I’d say it would be a different story.
By all means teams use leverage and when feasible try and maximize club controlled years. With Crochet it was a rare situation where a player under team control had cards to play.
can you blame him?
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I would do the same, as would everyone in here. You owe it to yourself and your family. Why should the player assume all the risk? If the team signed me to a 5-year contract, then I wouldn’t mind risking my arm as much.
@Tigers3232 Had Crochet had been traded to the Yankees or Dodgers and refused to pitch in the postseason, I wouldn’t blame him even while being aware that he would likely be missing out on pretty good playoffs shares money.
215, based on one comment that leaked from his agent to someone in the media? You sound like a simple fella.
ranger had 1.83 era thru 16 starts, then 6.54 final 11 starts
how’s his back doing? having an injury like that doesnt just go away
Nice take and I agree. Love the idea of moving crybaby bohm, Crawford and throw in Suarez and his blubber body for a controllable, dominant southpaw. Please sign Adames Dumbrowski and get a shut down closer.
Mariano Rivera is retired!
The only thing the Giants MUST do this off season is sign Adames.
He found himself again in the playoffs, but yeah that injury was a concern.
Why all the bolm fallout ?? Chime in Phili phans
Apparently they don’t like his attitude at all. Self-centered jerk, perhaps.
Yes
Maybe he just hates the awful Philly fans who boo them during a playoff game
Boos only come if the team is playing lousy. This is the same in any northeast market, This is not a bad thing. Give your all, and the fans will love you.
You’re right, KJ. Yankees fans can be terrible, booing players who don’t need to be booed.
Imagine if the Mets fans booed Lindor instead of giving him standing ovation after his horrendous April?
The mets were sitting home in October.
“The mets were sitting home in October.”
What does this mean?
The awful 3.5 million Phillies fans that fill the ballpark every night? Those awful Phillies fans? Interesting take.
Imagine if the Phillies fans booed Tre after that horrendous start in ‘23 instead of applauding every single at bat for days that August.
They suck.
Heart emoji!
Anyone have an article to support that?
@Damn_Yankees
Ruth was a self-centered jerk and he did well…
Bit of a talent gap there, Old York.
@Damn_Yankees
He only played against a small sample size of athletes on earth when it came to baseball, so I don’t know what talent he actually had.
I’d say pretty talented putting up those numbers as a fat alcoholic.
You might not know, but everyone that was born from 1900, to the present day that knows baseball does!!
Philly media nonsense. Bohm is simply on the market because he’s one of their few tradable pieces. The rest are overpaid or not going to warrant any return. The Bohm bashing is just pure BS. You don’t bash a player you want to trade.
I wonder if the team feels he outperformed his talent level last season and are trying to trade him at what they view as peak value.
Even if his defense improvements hold, they still could easily upgrade over that. Might not be a direct upgrade for defense in the OF, but they seemingly would benefit much by anything that’s net positive defensively.
VonPurpleHayes —
Bohm is on the market because he’s a very MEH player on both sides of the ball.
That’s not the case at all. You don’t trade MEH player because you get MEH returns. He was an All-Star last year. He has 2 years of control. He’s cheap. He’s improved every season. Plenty of teams desire that production. He’s not a superstar and won’t warrant one in return, but he’s a good player.
That is 100% correct. Bohm is an excellent major league third baseman. If the Phillies do trade him ( I hope not), they better get good value in return. They currently have one big hole in left field, and don’t need to create a second major hole!!
I think it’s because he doesn’t button his jersey all the way up???
Trading Bohm makes no sense at all. He is now in his prime years, and an excellent player at only 8.1 m. Sign Adames to play ss, and move Trey Turner to cf, just like the Brewers did with Robin Yount, a ” few years” back!! As Inside Out said, sign Tanner Scott. Painter will be the 5th starter, come late May or June!!
That would be the best lineup in baseball for sure
The Astros actually played better with Kyle Tucker. Tucker (18mil) & Ryan Pressly (15mil) are expensive luxuries for an Astros club that has the 30th ranked farm system in baseball, and needs corner INF & SP help. They could free up 33 million and may take a 40 man guy or two like Kody Clemens & Johan Rojas, plus a couple 2nd tier prospects – if a trade partner was willing to take both players (and their high salaries).
They aren’t trading Kyle Tucker for salary relief, Kody Clemens, and 2nd tier prospects
Bro doesn’t know trades. Here’s a better one: Crawford and Jean Cabrera is your starting point. Maybe add one way or another to even it out, but that’s the backbone of the package.
609…….Same guy who suggested signing Joey Gallo
“Crazy Joe Gallo”, was a better “hitter”!!
Surely you don’t think they’re actually better off without him. It would be criminal to trade him for second-tier prospects and a couple of castoffs. If he’s being traded to Philly, it should be for nothing less than one of Painter, Miller, or Crawford and two more back-end top 10ish guys like Nori and Cabrera. Might even have to throw in a lottery ticket. He’s an MVP-level player and Houston wants to win.
That said, I hope they do your deal so he can stop terrorizing the Mariners.
One year of Tucker would cost the Phillies Andrew painter, mick Abel, Justin Crawford, etc
Tucker is probably going to get a 300 million+ deal assuming he has a decent walk year so I wouldn’t be surprised if the astros were bad in July and traded him
No, it wouldn’t cost nearly that much. There’s about a dozen teams in all of baseball, that is even authorized to add $30 million in salary to their payroll. So if the Astros are really motivated to move them and open up that space for Bregman, they also need to “get creative”.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan —
Problem there is that you only get a few months of him which will severely limit the return.
Nonsense
If they really want to sign Bregman to bookoo bucks, they’re going to have to trade either Tucker or Pressly or both. Astros would be very tempted to free up 33 million if a powerhouse like the Phillies came calling and said we’ll take that. Pressly has negative value at 15mil. However he and Tucker are battle tested in the post season and that’s exactly the kind of players the Phillies need.
How about this trade:
Astros get:
Nick Castellanos RF (2/40mil)
Johan Rojas CF (league minimum salary)
Kody Clemens (long term 1B/3B for pennies)
Mick Abel RHP (#6)
Michael Mercado RHP (#19)
Griff McGarry RHP (#20)
Phillies get:
Kyle Tucker (2/40)
Ryan Pressly (1/15)
Two league minimum salary 40 man players better than their in house options at CF (McCormick) & 1B (Singleton). Plus a middle of the order (albeit overpaid) bat in Castellanos and a major shot in the arm to their upper minors pitching depth. Heck well even throw in Darrick Hall.
Or same deal to the Guardians for Emmanuel Clase (2/30mil) & Myles Straw (3/21mil).
If anyone on planet earth would take Myles Straw contract (which isn’t cheap for the low budget Guards) – they would take quantity over quality in a trade for Clase – who blew two crucial games for games for them in the past season and salary is due to nearly triple in 2025. They would sell high and on Clase and kiss Straw goodbye if this opportunity (or something similar) was presented to them.
Kody Clemens is not a long term option for any team. He’s doodoo. Rojas is dump, too.
Also, Abel is garbage. You are just tossing scraps, quantity for quality. Terrible
Youre telling me the Phillies acquire tucker WITHOUT giving up painter or even Crawford
Also Clase is at like 4/31 with the options. You are just matching payroll then tossing in the Phillies garbage prospects. And Castellanos who is a wet fart of a baseball player.
@9/11ths: Just another “We’ll give your our unwanted junk for your excellent player” fanboy garbage trade. Philly fan fever dream.
Painter is untouchable. He isn’t involved in any trade discussions.
Without Tucker*
You’re player evaluations are worst than terrible and rival jimmertree for worst on the site.
Bohm is washed, no one wants him
I would take him as our 3rd baseman he’s an upgrade to… wait who’s a 3rd baseman on the ML roster for Seattle?
Lol probably 25 teams would be glad to find a spot for Bohm
If the RS could move Yoshida reasonably, I’d DH Devers and trade for Bohm in a heartbeat.
carlos15 —
I very much doubt there are 25 teams who want Bohm. He’s gonna be a throw-in at best.
Lol. From All Star team to a throw-in at best. Sorry, but your cluelessness is showing
Not true KC Royals offered 2 MLB pitchers for him and the Mariners were considering a one for one swap of Andres Munoz. Bohm is valuable commodity on the trade market. It’s not often a club makes a 27 year old Allstar 3B with multiple year of control, available. Only reason the Phillies are even considering it is because they think that Edmundo Sosa could hold the hot corner down until Aiden Miller arrives on scene.
Royals are dumb
Alec Bohm has posted 3.8 fWAR and 7.7 fWAR in 599 career games spanning five MLB seasons.
A trade partner should be reluctant to pay a premium for the three outlier months that landed Bohm an All Star appearance.
What source said that we were thinking of trading Munoz?
That is absolutely not true. There is no way that the Phillies are going into opening day with Sosa as the starting third baseman. He is a fine utility infielder, but would be a well below average starting third baseman!! If the Phillies do trade Bohm, they will sign Adames, or Bregman!!
Sosa > Bregman
Bohm was toast after the Home Run Derby. He should not have been there. This team is starting to remind me of 2010-2012 let’s keep the band together and get old at the same time.
Stott needs to step up on offense.
He had a significant hand injury. It’s fun to blame the Derby, but the injury is the more likely culprit.
How dare you bring facts to the mix!
The injury occurred late in August. His power was gone after the all star game..
Bohm has never been known for power, ever. What was alarming was his lack of contact and batting average after the break, which he absolutely is known for.
Bohm is not a home run hitter. He is a line drive doubles hitter, that can hit 20 or so homers. He hits his homers in bunches, and goes long periods between homers, while still hitting for average, and driving in runs.
I really liked the 2009 Phillies.
And I always was a fan of Richie Ashburn.
Bohm had a hand injury during the second half of the season. That continues to be overlooked.. Bregman had more homers than Bohm did last season, but Bohm had a better On-Base percentage & OPS. he also had more RBI’s. Is it really worth it for the Phillies to pay Bregman significantly more than Bohm to be their third baseman? I would argue that it isn’t
The Phillies need right handed pop. They aren’t going to get it from Bohm. Bregman might provide it, adames might.
Bohm wouldn’t be traded for Bregman since Bregman is a FA. So it’s pointless comparing the two. The unknown return for Bohm is what would warrant the Bregman signing because you’d need to fill the void.
Here I go with purple again. Obviously purple I’m aware Both are Free agents. Include Bohm the baby if possible in a crochet trade. Sign Adames if possible preferably not bregman.
I wasn’t even responding to you, my friend. The previous poster was comparing Bohm to Bregman. I was saying it’s silly to compare them because the Bregman signing relies on a Bohm trade. So you can’t judge the move in a vacuum.
Von purple Hayes stay in your little moves world. It’s why your Phillies keep coming up Short friend. My Phillies always won with slugging, dominant pitching and always a dominant closer. Not closer by committee. Not 1 Dominant starter and let’s go 5 maybe. Nick castallanos our right handed slugger?? Outrageous. Even von Hayes who was a bust , would mute you
In order for PHI to get the best return for Bohm (if traded) he needs to be traded before they sign Bregman or Adames or someone else for 3B.
Adames could probably handle it but 3B is probably his 3rd worst position after 2B and SS
Von obviously.
I know it wouldn’t be a trade, but you’d be swapping out Bohm for a declining Bregman and paying Bregman significantly more than Bohm. If the White Sox don’t want Bohm as part of a Crochet deal, who are you going to get that is going to be a needle mover? That’s the issue for the Phillies. Adames can’t hit left-handed pitching. Never has. He’s a career .220 hitter with 33 homers against lefties. You’d be paying him more than Bohm to only hit righties
The Phillies have Miller waiting in the wings for 3rd base. Bohm is only under 2 years of control. So trading Bohm and having Bregman as a stopgap makes sense. I prefer Adames myself, and perhaps you can move Turner to the OF in that case. But there is some logic in trading Bohm.
Von;
Scott Boras is not getting Mr. Bregman an eye-popping multi-year contract to be a stopgap.
Bergman and/ot Adames are not stop gaps. They would be signed to 7 to10 year deals. It could mean Miller is involved in Crochet trade.
Point being, Bregman could ve moved off 3rd down the road if he declines. 7 year deal for Bregman is stupid though. He’s no spring chicken.
Bregman isn’t signing a 2-year deal. You sign him to a six-year deal, where does that leave Miller when he’s ready in a year and half? Signing Bregman to a long term deal makes zero sense for the Phillies if they really think Miller is the real deal.
I agree w devil. I like Bohm but Phili is the one place Bregman makes sense. Prob still not financially, but love him in that lineup !
Sorry whiff but I like Adames pop a bit more but like bregmans glove. Purple loves stagnant.
What are you talking about? I didn’t say anything about being against the trade. Phillies need to shake it up.
Bregman makes sense in others places also like DET
That’s where I have him in the FA pool.
Maybe even SF (at 2b)..
ericl
The only thing about Bregman and Bohm is that both players last name starts with a “B.” Comparing the two is nonsense.
It isn’t nonsense comparing the two when the Phillies might be replacing one with the other. One is younger & cheaper. (Bohm). Bohm had a better year than Bregman did last season. Bregman has the longer track record. Let’s not forget personalities. Bregman is abrasive & rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Bohm is loved by his teammates in Philly. Bregman isn’t enough of an upgrade over Bohm to allocating that much more of your payroll to him
No it isn’t!!
Making moves just to make moves.
Wrong
Working on our night moves. Trying to make some front page drive in news. Working on our night moves.
Wonder how many posters get your reference?
Stellar btw
Just old guys probably LOL! Thanks.
Ha, iconic is still iconic, no matter the song or WHEN it was released!
Agreed – just don’t expect the Gen Z and Millenials to be listening to good old 70’s rock n roll.
Some do. My concert list in 2024 included Journey, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks – I saw some 3 generation people at all. Mostly gray haired people though!
cpdpoet
Ha, iconic is still iconic, no matter the song or WHEN it was released!
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I grew up listening to guys like Dylan, Zepplin, etc., but I still manage to listen to the 50s quite often, and occasionally some classical music.
Am genX (’68 version) and I can tell you quite a bit of millenials that were mildly raised properly have a solid understanding of good music.
Worked in retail for decades so I had a good view of who was raised by good parents…
I’m 66 version myself.
Did Bohm do something in the clubhouse or say something about the front office? He’s had some good seasons for the Phillies, so I’m not sure why they’d want to move on from him…
No. It’s as simple as Bohm is really the only tradable piece on the Phillies roster. He isn’t locked up long-term. One of the Phillies’ best prospects plays 3rd base. Bohm is just in a position where he’s the easiest guy to trade and the lineup needs tinkering. Philly media is trying to start some nonsense about Bohm’s personality, but that’s just silliness. Bohm is on the market simply because of business reasons.
Okay, that checks out then. Bohm would certainly bring back prospects to the Phillies. If the Cubs didn’t have Paredes at 3B, I certainly wouldn’t mind him, plus Cubs have prospects to trade, so Phillies might have gotten young position players back but that’s my two cents. Thank you for the explanation on Bohm!
A team like SEA might take Bohm but only at a decent return NOT top prospects, more like 2 or 3 of their top 50 maybe
Von, nailed it. They want/need to shake up the lineup and the team controlled trade chips they have are Bohm, Stott, Marsh, and Rojas. Bohm and Stott have the most value and Stott is more of a darling in the front office (right, wrong, or indifferent) so Bohm is odd man out.
The Phillies will keep Bohm and when he’s a free agent Miller will be ready. It’s that simple I don’t know why people can’t figure it out.
That’s a likely scenario, but they’ve been open about Bohm being available, and that’s rare for the normally silent front office. The fact that the Phillies are openly shopping Bohm makes people think it’s likely to happen.
Who actually said Bohm is available?
Why would a win now team trade a guy with 2 years of team control left coming off his best year?
It just doesn’t make any sense.
The Phillies front office has openly stated that Bohm is available. This isn’t just rumored. It’s an open fact. The Phillies front office which normally doesn’t say a word has openly said Bohm is available.
Now this doesn’t mean Bohm will be traded. It just means they’re listening. And the Phillies FO doesn’t do that often. Last year when rumors of started that the Phillies were open to trade Nicky C, the Phillies very quickly denied those rumors in a matter of days. The Phillies are not denying the Bohm rumors because they’re absolutely true. The Phillies are open to trade Bohm, but they won’t unless they find a fit.
The Bregman and Adames rumors are coming from this idea that they’ll need to fill a void if they trade Bohm, but really all we know is that they’re open to the idea of trading Bohm. Everything else is speculation.
Can you provide a link where the Phillies say this? At first you say they said it then you say they didn’t deny it those are 2 different things.
Who the heck would want Bohm and be willing to give up win now talent to get him? It just doesn’t make any sense none of it does.
If you google “Phillies open to trading Bohm” you’ll see hundreds of articles with quotes from other front offices. Buster Olney’s interview is the most reliable source IMO.
I think the return for Bohm would be more along the lines of a reliever. Something similar to the SInger/India trade. In fact, there were rumors that the Royals were interested in Bohm before that trade. Or perhaps a solid average OF bat. You’re not going to get a star for Bohm, but Bohm’s value comes from the fact that you get controllable production for very cheap. So the return should be decent.
That being said, I don’t think the Phillies will just give him away. So if there isn’t a good fit, Bohm is staying put.
Seems like just a bunch of nonsense rumors. I saw where it said Bob Nightengale reported the Phillies offered Bohm to the White Sox but why the f would the White Sox want Bohm? It doesn’t make any sense.
What team is trading a reliever for Bohm? Sure the Royals do or did need 3b help but not anymore it appears.
It makes no sense.
Like I said, the Buster Olney interview is likely your best source.
I think you’re selling Bohm’s value a little short. He’s a controllable productive IF for very cheap.
No one is trading a solid SP for him, but there’s value there, and really the Phillies don’t have many valuable trade chips outside of Bohm, Stott, Rojas and prospects.
Olney does not work for the Phillies. If he’s the source then it’s just a rumor it’s not actually real.
It has nothing to do with Bohms value. I think he has plenty of value i just don’t see why the Phillies would trade him and how that would make any sense.
The Phillies have plenty of valuable trade chips. Painter, Miller, Crawford and Caba all good trade chips. Those are the kind of players win now teams trade not Bohm.
Right. I mentioned “outside of prospects.” But they want to hold on to some of those guys.
It just doesn’t make any sense.
============================
None at all. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, they need a two-year bridge to Miller, and Bohm is a 2-year player. It’s like the Castellanos talk. They need an OFer. I don’t even like the guy, but trading the guy away just exacerbates the problem.
I’m not really big on trading Bohm, but they do have Sosa who could play third in those stopgap years and has proven he can be productive offensively.
But why would the Phillies want to take a step back in production at 3b? Sosa is more like a utility guy who can play more if their are injuries. Also the Phillies have said they are gonna spend money this offseason so I think they will simply buy the help they need not trade for it.
It’s all dependent on the Bohm return. They aren’t going to trade Bohm for nothing. They need to improve their offensive production in the OF. They need 2 relievers, with one being a closer and they need backend rotation help. If Bohm improves 1 of those areas of need you’d consider a trade (and additional FA signings), but that’s a big if. I don’t see it happening, but I’m just playing devil’s advocate. I see how it could happen.
I was hoping the Phillies would do a deal for Trout but the Angels seem to think they can compete in 2025.
I wouldn’t touch Trout. He cannot play a full season.
The Phillies messed up spending all that money on Trea Turner. He’s not that guy, especially at $300M
When Soto makes 600, turner will look like a steal
Trea Turner does not hit playoff caliber pitching. For a contender, he’s a liability.
I agree, but dudes like Soto are projected to get 600 now. 300 seems less painful.
Soto isn’t getting 600 million
We’ll see. I think he does. These contracts get bigger every year.
You are a Philly fan right? Look at what Harper got. Yes Harper got a lot of years but he took a smaller annual value in order to get those years. You truly think Soto will get double the guaranteed money that Harper got???
Yes. I do. Haroer’s contract looks like a steal now. Look at what these stars are getting every year. I really believe Soto will get 600 because he’s so young.
Harper was really young too. I think his contract looks better than most but Soto isn’t getting double what Harper got thats just not happening.
Wait and see. Soto is not Ohtani he’s not getting some massive deal and even Ohtanis deal isn’t what it seems considering the time value of money Ohtanis deal is less than 500 million.
I think MAYBE Soto gets 400 million. Maybe.
I guarantee he gets more than 400. Mets reported offer is already over 600, but I don’t know how much to believe right now.
I bet it’s closer to 400 than 600. We will see.
I bet Toronto offers more than 400. Then everyone else knows Toronto is looking to make a splash so they’ll be accordingly. Thats where I see cohen coming in and signing him for closer to 500 mil. 6 does seem like a massive stretch but ya never know ?!
Castelanos,turner,walker,.no closer,by Hoskins.
I would be THRILLED if I was the ChiSox getting offered Bohm and Crawford for Crochet. That deal should have been done yesterday Just compare it to the relative sack of garbage they got for Dylan Cease.
I like Bohm, but he wouldn’t help the White Sox. They’re in no real proximity of contending, and Bohm wouldn’t help a team going nowhere. White Sox need young prospects to see who sticks. Still at the tryouts phase.
He would cover third. They just lost Moncada and need someone there. They need a third baseman in 2025 before they need one in 2028. He is only 28 and has two full years of control remaining. He is young enough to potentially still be a building block, but could easily be a trade chip at the deadline, either in 2025 or 2026. He is exactly who the White Sox should be acquiring alongside prospects like Crawford.
Trying out prospects is fine, but you also have to maintain a semblance of a big league roster as well. Otherwise, what is the point of having a major league team.
There is a -0- chance of the WS trading for Bohm, unless there is a 3rd team involved. They will still be in last when his control years are over.
Or unless Bohm is part of a larger package that includes prospects.
The WS would place -0- value on Bohm, so Philly would almost have to give him away for -0-. It’s not happening.
Ummmmmm looking to upgrade?
Bohm and Crawford for Logan Gilbert
Who needs to add more?
SEA would laugh and hang up the phone
Philly
Philly would have to add a lot more.
Trade Bohm for Devin Williams, sign Adames to play 3rd and eventually move him to 2nd when Miller is ready for 3rd. Plan on Crawford in Lf with Rojas and marsh CF. The other option is sign Adames for SS, send Bohm to Cards for Arenado and move Turner to CF.
This is a dream scenario, but I don’t think Bohm gets you Williams.
Dom-Won always hustling!
If moving Adames to 3rd then he’s really only a slight upgrade over Bohm offensively, much of his value is being a good defender at SS. Why would they pay Adames 150 mil to be 6 WRC+ points better than Bohm on offense? Yes he’d be better defensively but that isn’t worth that much and he’s a few years older. And I like Adames, but trading Bohm and signing Adames doesn’t make sense to me unless someone overpays for Bohm in the trade scenario.
Perhaps Turner moves to the OF in this scenario. His defense has been brutal.
Von;
Stop (along with others) with the Turner to the OF stuff.
Years ago the Nationals tried that with him and it was a disaster.
The Dodgers tried him at 2B. He wasn’t comfortable there.
Well Turner at SS has been a disaster. Dude is an error machine.
Best post of the thread.
My guess is that Bregman has between a 1.0-1.5 better WAR next year, and then it goes down hill from there. And for that privilege, you pay an extra $18-19M. That puts you close to the top cap number, and you need an outfielder, a low-end #5, a closer, and probably another RP.
The Phils are fun to watch but they always seem to lack something in October. And I don’t get the fascination with the Stros signing Bregman when over the next few years you have 2 players in Tucker and Alvarez who are going to cost a small fortune. The Stros are old, expensive and their farm system sucks. Truly hoping the Tigers sign Bregman to be the clubhouse leader they may lack at the moment. With the kids we have coming (or already on the roster) it could be fun times at Comerica in the near future.
Dtownwarrior78;
Exactly.
I wrote a long post on this the other day, and mentioned it in the post below.
A team can’t keep overpaying FA’s, giving them an additional 2-4 years on a contract that they know are going to be sub-standard because the team wants to win now. That’s exactly what Mozeliak
did with the Cardinals for years, and look at that mess.
Will add…..
This is also what the Blue Jays have done to themselves, and from recent rumor’s they’re trying to do it again. They don’t know what else to do.
This stuff goes on till the owner intervenes….as happened in St. Louis.
Have been a big DD backer with the Phillies. But am sorry if these sorts of rumors are true. DD’s history is that he’s done this before. It’s a bad pattern – one the Astros are in now with no way out…..
At some point teams have to develop their own star players.
I like Bohm, Stott, and Ranger. Now it appears the Phils FO is losing patience with them. They gave up on Hays after half a year in which he was hurt. No problem as they gave up on Seranthony Domínguez to get Hays. But therein lies the problem: the O’s pitching coach (Drew French) actually had Seranthony saving some games as their closer which the Phillies could not do with him after multiple tries over the last 2 years. Even more exposing was what happened with Gregory Soto. They stick him on the O’s and he immediately proceeded to blow some games as he couldn’t throw the ball over the plate. But I watched French listen to him and be patient. and slowly Soto started straightening out – pitching well in relief. Meanwhile, what did the Phillies do? Brought in Carlos Estévez to be their closer for the stretch run, after he’d been killing it all year with the Angels. Estévez almost immediately went backwards and was blowing games at a surprising rate.
–
Contrast this with what David Stearns did with the Mets. He found Jose Iglesias on the scrap heap – a solid player – that because a stabilizing force for the Mets in 2024. He gave Brett Baty a shot, cut bait when it was clear that the man isn’t ready…and may never be. Had the coaches work with Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos that were solid in 2024 and look at this point they they’ll have good futures with the Mets. Brought in Jesse Winker that produced, and promoted Luisangel Acuña during the stretch run when hit with injuries, and the young man did a solid – although not eye-popping at this point – job.
–
So what is DD doing? Dumping youngsters that he can’t develop, and looking for more expensive veterans that will join others with large long-term contracts that some point are going to go sour and the team will be stuck for years waiting for those contracts to expire (think John Mozeliak with the Cardinals and what is happening to the Astros today).
Not good.
I disagree Samuel. The Phillies farm looks better than it did in a longtime. Bohm is only under control for 2 years, and one of our better prospects is a 3rd baseman. So trading a 28 year old Bohm for a veteran makes sense for a stopgap while Miller is waiting.
I’d also add that the Phillies window is about 2-3 more years. This is a team that had the longest playoff drought in baseball before 2022. They need to win now while their aging stars still have juice. They may have to part with some prospects, but so far they haven’t lost any of their best farm pieces.
Von;
I understand your point of view.
But the problem is this: Harper and others are signed for more then 2-3 years.
Aidan Miller is 20 years-old and some project he won’t even be in the bigs till 2027. When he gets there it’ll be a period of adjustment for him as it was with 98% of players…including Harper and others.
The reality of bringing in an Adames or Bregman is not that they’ll sign for 2 or 3 years. They’ll want more years and maybe an opt-out. Their skills are waning some already, but they have veteran smarts to make up for that some for now. But the rule of thumb with veterans is they get hurt more often than young players, and when they do it takes them longer to heal.
My point is simply that the Phillies have to get younger players and coach them up. They haven’t done a good job there. Bringing in yet more high-priced veterans on long-term contracts isn’t the answer.
–
As I keep writing about Mike Elias and the Orioles: This is exactly the reason he won’t part with his best prospects in trade to try to win-now. No one knows which top prospects will succeed, and which will be average at best. Only time tells. The teams that are sustainable contenders for years understand this. The Braves keep bringing up young players that produce, and then get better. Now the Mets are doing that. If the Phillies continue to go after the Goldschmidt’s and Arenado’s of 3 years ago, they probably won’t win anything and will be left holding the bag.
So trading a 28 year old Bohm for a veteran makes sense for a stopgap while Miller is waiting.
==========================
I’m not sure what you’d be looking for. It appears that you want a 2-year 3B stopgap while waiting Miller to develop. Isn’t Bohm the perfect 2-year stopgap?
It makes no sense to trade a 2-year 3B for a 2-year 3B.
Ideally, they’d keep Bohm as the stopgap. I agree. But they want to make a run right now and unfortunately don’t have many trade chips outside of Bohm and prospects.
But if you trade Bohm, who plays 3B?
Sosa.
Sosa played great while Turner was out. If Bohm goes, and you’re able to get a LF, or ideally a CF, return piece then it works.
I’m also not out on Rojas, he’s extremely young and think that he can turn out to be a top 10-15 CF in the league 2-4 years down the road but understand the “win now” urgency that you can’t sit on your hands as he develops. I see him and Crawford being the OFs of the future for the phillies.
To add……
The Taijuan Walker signing stunned me. I figured maybe they
knew something I didn’t see watching him try to pitch his 5
innings. They’re stuck with him for 2 more years.
That was the red flag, and where the momentum turned.
This is an opportunity to use your ego management skills.
T Walker still has some value and you are kind of stuck with him so kill him with kindness, encourage him in every way, hopefully good preparation in spring training and another cliche – make lemonade from lemons.
He’s not the first player, team management relationship that has gone sour. Walker in some minds may have said some unforgiveable things and his results have gone south.
Many coaches are getting paid big $ I think.
Do Your Job. Figure it out.
Also maybe a teammate (or two) could step up and make a bad situation better and be friend T. Walker. The Past is Gone.
It’s called maturity and Leadership.
You don’t have to be Dr Phil or have a Masters in Psychology.
YaGottaBelieveAgain
LOL
How do you know the Phillies haven’t tried that?
The Mets needed pitching at he time and let him go FA. He is who he is.
I’m sure they have
SOO Don’t Give UP Keep Trying Kind of a Sunk cost
Thinking Positive is a not a bad habit.
Stubborness can be a 2 way street.
My Way or the Highway mentality
Plan A, Plan B, Plan C.
Every Human Being is a Puzzle
Some people respond better to the carrot some need the stick/kick in the butt
C’mon Taijuan Show me what You Got! Dig Deep!
He was a big prospect originally with SEA drafted in the First round. He hurt his arm and had to learn to kind of re invent himself. He has had stops in AZ and some other teams
Maybe someone can use a kind of Jedi mind trick on him and find what really motivates him.
Pretend he is your brother or your son.
Would you want to give up on him?
He could have personal problems, family or more
There are always off field behavior rumors and sometime a player gets a bad reputation deservedly or Un
Having $ sometimes screws with peoples heads – literally and figuratively
Sports psychologist have helped many athletes over the years. tennis, golf players and more
If Walker gave the Phillies the same production he gave the Mets, the Phils would have one of the better 5th starters in the league. Dude was overpaid to begin with, but he also fell off a cliff.
be friend T. Walker
=========================
I doubt that’s going to work. It feels like trying to befriend an accountant that can’t add up a column of numbers in the hope that he will suddenly become a good accountant.
Tipping pitches, changing which pitches to throw more and less often, etc., is good coaching. But patting him on the back and taking him out to dinner won’t do anything.
do you think the Phillies would accept Carlos Hernandez for Alec bohm? I’ll also throw in a cousin of Ronald Acuña Jr.
Dombrowski will add a major player, this team has been knocking on the door for the last 3 years and the window is still open. He will be looking for players that will put them over the top.
It seems to me that the Phillies competitive window is in danger of closing, what all with the older ages of the heart of their roster. Going after these notable FA’s is not going to help overcome that trend..
If they deal Bohm, they only need a filler at the position for 1-2 years depending on Aiden Miller’s development curve. I do not see a long term contract going to anyone to play the hot corner regardless. No one is blocking Aiden Miller. The need is in LF, RP {need 2} (Topper will never use a full time closer). Marsh and Bohm are the tradable pieces and if they can find a taker for Nick C, I am all for it. He has given his all and is always in the line up (only guy Topper will play everyday) They need full TIME OF’s to limit Toppers messing around. Ideally they’d find another Sp as well because Painter will not be allowed to throw too many innings. Bohm, Marsh, Nick C, prospects not named Miller/Crawford and Painter can be moved. Everyone keeps pointing to Dombrowski’s earlier years of deals. He is not the same man. He is much, much more conservative and too willing to give out massive $ to homegrown guys to his and the teams detriment (NOLA).
LAD and WASH went many years being close and not breaking through
UNTIL 2020. 2024 and 2019 WASH
Dombrowski is not the money man. He works with the budget he is given. If the owner says sign that player, he will do as told, if it can be done.
Cambo, it’s not just you but man keep saying a 1-2 year bridge to get to Aiden Miller. They have Bohm for another 2 years of control. In my mind there is a slim chance DD trades Bohm just to overpay for a FA 3B.
Interesting you said you’re all for trading Nick C even though he’s always in the lineup, but then say they need “Full Time OFs”. If you trade Nick C, you have 0 guys in a position to play 162 which Thompson, or performance, hasn’t relinquished into Platoon Status.
If DD truly wants to shake up the lineup and move Bohm, Sosa plugs in at 3B and hope for Soto in LF. Marsh and Rojas platoon CF.
If Soto doesn’t work out, trade Bohm for an impact CF and go straight for an area of need. Marsh and Wilson platoon LF.
As a long time Phillies fan, we’re in the best position we’ve had since 2009. Our infield right now, with Bohm, compares to any team. Turner is a poor fielder at his position, but Harper and Stott are GG caliber. JT is still solid defensively and I foresee a somewhat better hitting year. If we add Profar or Santander in left, platoon Marsh and Rojas in center, and two capable relievers we’re solid. Our worst contract by far is Turner’s, due to its length. But we can worry about that in 4-5 years.
Walker is the worst contract
Just two years to go.
Phillies can have Bergman , I want Adames on the Mets
Phillies only 6 more managers away from figuring it out
I think it’s pretty much figured out. They’ve improved every year since Harper has been on the team with 3 straight playoff appearances starting in 22. They haven’t won the WS, but we all know how much luck and momentum that requires. The Phillies have been consistently competitive. I think they have a few more years of doing that as well before their starts age out.
I can see Dave Dombrowski making a strong play for Tarik Skubal. I can’t even imagine what would get that done but no way Skubal stays in Detroit after free agency.
It’ll take Painter + Miller, and even then, I don’t think Detroit would trade Skubal.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh bwaaaaaaaaaaaaa keep him
Agreed. I don’t think they necessarily need to make that trade either. Phillies have a solid 1-4. It would be nice getting another top of the rotation guy to improve that rotation even more, but it’s not necessarily a need. I would not trade Painter+Miller unless it’s for a stud like Skubal, but why would Detroit part with Skubal?
I agree. I posted elsewhere that the Phillies need a low-end #5. Get someone like Lorenzen on a cheap one-year deal. If he pitches to a 4.50 for 3 months until Painter is ready, then you are ahead of the game. You just want someone that can keep the team in the game.
I’d even take another look at Turnbull if I were the Phillies.
There’s something to be said about these pitchers as the come over from trades and ultimately how they get utilized.
I think Walker got burned when he wasn’t used in the ’23 playoff run, even out of the pen. Turnbull was pitching great as the 5th starter and was bumped to the pen. 2 months later, his first start back in the rotation he gets hurt to end his year.
The closer by committee seemed to have taken a toll on the pen as the season went on.
I disagree Turner’s contract is that bad. He was signed to be a super star game changer at the top of the line up and our manager has made him a 2 hole hitter behind a slugger limiting his chaos on the basepaths. The Phillies need to change their style of play all around to catch up with how the game is played. Topper is playing a base to base kind of brand baseball. He refuses to bunt, wont move runners in key situations. He is the problem this team isn’t taking the next step. Getting players he can not shift in and out is the answer and ENDING the KYLE at lead off. Sure, homers are fun but it counts at 1 run to begin a ballgame and then nothing else.
Agree, speed at the top of the lineup is more important with the changes in the game.
Phils are not adapting by having Kyle lead off.
Turner also doesn’t hit like a speed guy. He swings for the fences. Lots of swing and miss as well.
He gets good production at the end of the day, but I think he needs to change his approach.
I’m Mets fan. And after reading all these comments, I get the impression the Phillies aren’t as powerhouse in the short and long term as I thought, and are deeper in tax penalty phase than I realized.
In a trade, Bohm can help a team who’s on the playoff periphery or better, a ..500 team. Or a team needing stopgap third baseman. Not a fit for a rebuilder a few years away from competing.
Baty would make a lot more sense for the White Sox. So too the power hitting Clippard if the Mets bring back Alonso or the team becomes otherwise set at first base. That’s still 2 prospects short to trade for Crochet, but it’s a start. Mets have to be really careful about not trading away key pieces of their future. Some prospects should be off limits like Benge, Williams, Sproat.
Why? Both are trending downward. Maybe if they took at 1 or 2 year deal with a team opt-out after 1 year, otherwise, pass. Don’t hook your ship to a few anchors that will bring the team down.
Pirates, please-
Sign Alex Bregman
Sign Tanner Scott
Trade Henry Davis for Garrett Crochet
Sign Roki Sasaki
Sign Carlos Santana
Sign Juan Soto
Trade for Shohei Ohtani
Thats my dream offseason
but in reality they prolly just gonna sign Bryce Teodosio, and matt moore, and make an unnecessary “Improvement” for a washed up veteran giving up a haul of prospects
energel;
Do you mind if I change the line:
“Pirates, please-”
To
“Blue Jays, please-”
and stick it under the Toronto Blue Jays article?
1) Dave Dombrowski NEVER discusses potential trades publicly – EVER! So, any suggestion from a Phillies INSIDER of an impending trade should be seriously questioned and then doubted. Dombrowski did publicly state Alec Bohm was going nowhere at the end of the 2024 season. Dombrowski DOES give public votes of approval for players he likes.
2) Why would the Phils trade their young and affordable All-Star third-baseman for older and much more expensive alternatives like Bregman or Arenado, neither of whom significantly improve the Phils’ current third base situation? Bohm carried the Phils offensively and defensively for most of the 2024 season. He hit .280 and had 98 RBIs. Bregman hit .260 with 75 RBIs and Arenado hit .272 with 71 RBIs. A significant hand injury hurt Bohm’s play in the playoffs.
3) Castellanos was one of the Phils most consistent hitters for the second half of the 2024 season and in the playoffs. His defense was consistent.
4) Suarez was so effective during the first half of the 2024 season that he was the odds on favorite to win the Cy Young award. He cooled off in the second half of the season, but still finished 12-8 with a 3.46 ERA.
5) Crawford is considered one of the most coveted outfield prospects in baseball and has matured so rapidly at every level of the minors that he could become the Phils opening day center fielder in 2025.
6) The Phils trading Walker is a fait accompli. That leaves the Phils with a starting rotation of Wheeler, Nola, Suarez and Sanchez. Following an Arizona League MVP performance, Andrew Painter is the odds on favorite to replace Walker in the Phils starting rotation. Given that Suarez becomes a free agent after 2025, the Phils are interested in acquiring another marquis starter, but they are not about to give away Bohm, Castellanos, Suarez and Crawford for Crochet. First of all, Crochet is not worth such a haul and, secondly, the White Sox would not be interested in taking on the financial commitments of that many established players. The Phils could potentially land Sasaki this off-season, especially given his affordability as a 23 year old foreign player desiring MLB entrance. There are several other quality starters the Phils could acquire instead of Crochet.
7) The Phils could conceivably be interested in acquiring Adames if they could convince their current shortstop Turner to move to left field. That would leave them with only the need for a quality center fielder. Neither Marsh nor Rojas are probably in the Phils long-term plans, although Rojas could be kept as a bench piece because of his defensive abilities and base running skills. If the Phils didn’t want to promote Crawford in 2025, they could trade for young Jake McCarthy who the Diamondbacks could conceivably be willing to trade in light of their current glut of outfielders.
8) The Phils are rapidly aging in front of everyone’s eyes, and their current lineup is unlikely to dominate the NL East in 2025, considering a much healthier Braves team and the Mets becoming even stronger by virtue of acquisitions, possibly to include Juan Soto. Schwarber, Realmuto and Suarez are free agents after 2025, and all are replaceable. It is not inconceivable the Phils could add youth to their lineup by promoting Painter, Crawford and catcher Marchan in 2025. What’s more, the Phils’ coveted infield prospect Aidan Miller is also nearly ready for prime time. This makes Schwarber, Realmuto and Suarez immediate trade candidates, and decreases the likelihood of Bohm or Castellanos being traded any time soon.
onthebucks;
Liked your post and it’s reasonable. But a few things that I think are a stretch….
o Years ago the Nationals tried Turner in LF for a bit. He couldn’t play it, and his offense suffered (he was also uncomfortable playing 2B with the Dodgers).
o Adames notably regressed at SS this year which any Brewers fan can tell you. Putting him at SS isn’t going to improve much over Turner.
o Aidan Miller is not nearly ready for prime time. He’s 20 years-old and probably needs 2 more years in the minors. Even then he’ll need a period of adjustment.
–
I saw this trading Bohm stuff start right after the Phillies were eliminated Maybe they will. But they control him for 2 more years. As you noted he was the consistent bat starting about a month or so into the season which is why he made the All-Star game. I saw the game when he hurt his hand, and following that is when he was no longer productive.
–
Logically I think the Phillies would want to keep keep their young prospects, move some high-salaried veterans, and play the youngsters. But DD can be unpredictable.
I reiterate what I wrote above – the Phillies did a very poor job coaching up many of their players in 2024. Particularly many of the bullpen pitchers. From what I saw Rojas made strides as a hitter after they sent him down, but others didn’t see it. He’s 24 years-old with speed and defense. Far too soon to give up on him.
Because the Phillies crapped out in the playoffs again this year, it seems popular to write that they’re ready to trade anyone other than Harper and a few starting pitchers. DD needs to do what Stearns did with the Mets (and before that with the Brewers): Rather than make large sweeping moves, coach up players on the roster that are responsive to it and look to find some seemingly underperforming, available players in other organizations and work with them.
MLB is not rotisserie league. Teams that win do so by making the players they have under contract better. Always have. Always will.
sam, Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Turner is still billed as a centerfielder/shortstop. He apparently played center field in the past and the Earth continued spinning on its axis. Guys like Pat Burrel played left field for the Phils for many years and somehow made it work despite meager defensive skills. There’s no reason Turner shouldn’t be able to also. If the implied demotion hurts his feelings and affects his swing, maybe the Phils could arrange for their fans to give him another standing ovation at Citizens Bank Park. That should make things all well again in Mudville. Turner is actually not the Phils best defensive shortstop. Sosa and Stott are better defensively. Unfortunately, Sosa has been lead to believe he’s not an everyday player. What’s more, Adames has played second base. So, Turner in left, with or without the requisite fan ovation, Stott at short and Adames at second just might work. I totally agree Miller is not ready for prime time, and shouldn’t be rushed. The same is probably also true of Crawford. Castellanos becoming a free agent after 2026 may be the most reasonable path to the bigs for Crawford. Marchan is definitely ready for the bigs, as he clearly showed in brief appearances in 2024. His defense was solid and his offensive numbers were much better than those he put up in the minors. Painter is also ready to move up. I think Rojas has unlimited potential, but the Phils basically stunted his growth by rushing him to the bigs and not giving him the time in the minors to learn how to think baseball and master certain skills like bunting. I see him as a useful bench player until he emerges as more than that. Insanity is when you repeat the same activity on multiple occasions but expect different results. To me, the Phils winning the world series in 2025 without a major shakeup is sheer insanity. The team needs to youthen and significantly improve in the outfield, starting rotation (1 through 5) and bullpen. The team also needs to strengthen itself at the catcher’s spot, make much better use of its potential running game, and maximize its hitting potential out of the DH spot. I have always seen Schwarber as a luxury the Phils can’t afford, especially since he can’t play defense, and now see Realmuto as an aging catcher who, like Schwarber, is about to become a free agent. The Phils could still get decent returns in the trade market for Schwarber and Realmuto and, given the emergence of Marchan at catcher and ability to improve the DH position with a DH by committee (Harper, Turner, Castellanos, Realmuto, Bohm, Sosa, etc.) Schwarber and Realmuto have become expendable. The Phils will face stiffer competition in 2025 from the Braves and Mets and, to stay competitive in the NL East, they’ll have to improve at least as much as the Braves and Mets do. Nice chatting with you.
Largely agree with what you guys are both saying. Turner needs to slot into the leadoff spot. If you go L,R,L,R, then Schwarber hits 2nd and Harper hits 4th.
You only trade Bohm if it gets you an impact CF like a Luis Robert, and even though I like him a lot, he has been often injured. It’s the same reason I laugh at the Trout trade rumors. Give me Bohm for 140+ games. For the projected $8mm, you aren’t going to get better value production. Use the proposed Bregman or Adames funds (I don’t think DD is considering either of them) for other positions.
Re: Luis Robert
Be careful what you wish for.
Oh I agree 100%, the same people praying for Trout to come to Philly are one who will be casting the first stone if/when he only plays 80-100 games.
sam, I totally agree. The smart pick here for center field is Jake McCarthy of the Diamondbacks.
Rico, Great post and nice way of looking at things. I’d personally trade Schwarber now, while he still has trade value but, if the Phils insist on selling Schwarbombs and continue allowing Wawa to sell tribute hoagies with the guy’s name attached, I’d move him down toward the back of the lineup. Having him leadoff gives him a shot at a prime fastball every game and potential home run, but his being on base thwarts any running game. Robert may or may not be able to help the Phils, given his injury profile. The guy I really like as the Phils next center fielder is Jake McCarthy of the Diamondbacks. He’s solid defensively, fast and savvy at the plate. He hits from the left side but has great numbers against southpaws. He’s probably available, given the Diamondbacks current glut of outfielders. McCarthy in center and someone like the free agents Profar or Santander in left would elevate the Phils to another plateau. Trout was a nice thought a few years ago, but not now. If the Phils want to add someone really special to the outfield corps, they should go after Kyle Tucker of the Astros, who would probably help even more than Profar and Santander. Nice talking with you. Again, congrats on the nice post.
Rico, If all else fails in their pursuit of a center fielder, the Phils could consider trading Schwarber straight-up to the Cubs for center fielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger. The Cubs are evidently having a tough time finding a taker for Bellinger because of his $27.5 million salary in 2025 and $25 million in 2026. Schwarber who will make $20 million in 2025 would be an upgrade for the Cubs at DH and would be returning home as a former Cub. The trade off for both teams would be Bellinger’s additional salary versus Schwarber’s free agency after the 2025 season. Of course, both teams could engage in a multi-player trade. The Cubs might be interested in Taijuan Walker, and a reliever, like Tyson Miller, might interest the Phils. Both the Phils and Cubs have additional players and prospects they could add to create a blockbuster that improved both teams. Finally, I inadvertently omitted Teoscar Hernandez as another free agent corner outfielder the Phils could consider along with Profar and Santander. Hernandez has also played center field in the past.
Rico, One final thought. Harper should be the Phils’ leadoff man. He would hit more leadoff homers than Schwarber, get more hits, and key the Phils’ running game. Harper is the fire in the Phils’ team, and this would allow him to start many more big innings and rallies than the Phils have been used to in recent years. What’s more, Harper deserves the most times at bat in any game by virtue of his performance, especially in clutch situations.
MLB needs a salary cap
MLB needs a salary floor.
Agreed. Can’t have a league where one team is putting $60MM on the field while another is putting $360MM out. The system is broken and one reason why the game is backsliding in popularity.
PHI is so far behind in development that Bohm makes zero sense