The Phillies activated third baseman Alec Bohm off the 10-day injured list, and optioned infielder Rafael Lantigua to Triple-A in the corresponding move. In another transaction, the club also outrighted outfielder Brewer Hicklen to Triple-A after Hicklen (who was designated for assignment earlier this week) cleared waivers.
Bohm returns after a minimal stint, as his retroactive IL placement date was September 8. A left shoulder cyst was the cause of Bohm’s absence, as he had to have the cyst drained and treated in order to correct the discomfort in his non-throwing arm. The issue wasn’t seen as serious, so taking 10 days to fix the problem now gives Bohm some time to get back to action and get ramped up in advance of the playoffs.
Over 464 plate appearances this season, Bohm has hit .272/.319/.384 with nine home runs, translating to a subpar 94 wRC+. It has been a up-and-down season for the third baseman, with injuries have been the story of his second half. Between a fractured rib and his shoulder cyst, Bohm has been limited to just 20 games since the All-Star break, and he has hit only .231/.282/.333 over 85 PA during those 20 games.
The Phillies have clinched the NL East and are likely going to receive a first-round bye, giving the club some extra time to get healthy. Bohm is now back, though the Phils are still short-handed in the infield with Trea Turner and Edmundo Sosa on the IL. These absences opened the door for Lantigua to receive his first call to the majors on Tuesday, but he’ll return to Lehigh Valley without an official MLB debut, as Lantigua didn’t receive any playing time during his cup of coffee in the Show.
Lantigua’s selection to the 40-man roster came at Hicklen’s absence, as Hicklen found himself DFA’ed for the third time this season. All three of those designations came with different teams. The Brewers DFA’ed Hicklen on Opening Day and then traded him to the Tigers a day later, and Philadelphia then swung a trade in late July after Detroit designated Hicklen again.
Though all of these travels, Hicklen has appeared in exactly one big league game in 2025 — he had two hits as the Tigers’ starting center fielder in an 11-1 win over the Rockies on May 8, as Detroit swept a double-header against Colorado. These were the first two hits of Hicklen’s brief Major League career, which consists of 10 games with the Royals, Brewers, and Tigers from 2022-25.
Most of Hicklen’s playing time has come in Triple-A ball over these last four seasons, with a solid .240/.346/.464 career slash line in 1731 PA at the top minor league level. His numbers have taken a dip this year, however, as Hicklen has topped out at a .730 OPS while playing with the Phillies’ and Tigers’ top affiliates. Unless a late injury changes Philadelphia’s plans, Hicklen will likely finish 2025 in Lehigh Valley. He hasn’t been previously outrighted in his career and he has much less than three years of MLB service time, so Hicklen wasn’t able to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Dear Brewers front office, please add Brewer Hicklen to your roster even if it’s just a Spring Training invitation or a minor league deal, so we can have a little fun with puns.