Did Alec Bohm's October swing buy him another year with Phillies? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Alec Bohm let the pitch travel and drove it over the right-field wall at Truist Park.
His two-out, opposite-field homer in the 10th inning of Game 2 gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead over the Braves, kept their season alive and provided Bohm with the biggest hit of his career.
Philadelphia was eliminated the following night, leaving the homegrown infielder’s future as one of the first questions of the offseason.
Did that swing help buy Bohm another year with the Phillies?
No decision this important will be based on one postseason at-bat. But the home run offered a final reminder of what Bohm has provided, even during a season that began disastrously. He consistently puts the ball in play, rarely strikes out and has repeatedly driven in runs for a lineup that does not have many dependable right-handed hitters.
The Phillies also need more power, better defense and a different look after failing to win a postseason series for the third consecutive year. Deciding whether Bohm remains part of that picture is not as simple as replacing his .698 OPS.
His tenure in Philadelphia
The Phillies selected Bohm third overall in the 2018 draft, and he reached the majors two years later. He finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting during the shortened 2020 season and has remained in Philadelphia’s lineup ever since.
His development has not been linear, but he eventually became one of the steadier run producers in the middle of the order.
Bohm drove in 97 runs in both 2023 and 2024, making his first All-Star team during the latter season while setting a career high with 44 doubles and producing a .779 OPS. Injuries limited him to 120 games in 2025, but he still hit .287 with 59 RBIs.
His contract year began under much different circumstances.
Bohm filed a lawsuit against his parents days before Opening Day, alleging they had mismanaged his finances. His parents denied wrongdoing, and the sides reached a confidential settlement in September.
Through May 6, Bohm was hitting .159 with one home run, 15 RBIs and a .433 OPS. Don Mattingly then gave him two days out of the lineup to reset.
Bohm responded by homering twice in his return.
From May 9 through the end of the regular season, he hit .274 with 14 homers, 73 RBIs, 41 extra-base hits and a .773 OPS over 120 games. Extended across 162 games, that production translates to approximately 19 home runs and 99 RBIs.
That is much closer to the player Bohm has been throughout his career than the one who spent the opening weeks with one of baseball’s lowest OPS marks.
His production with runners in scoring position remained his greatest strength. Bohm hit .347 with a .418 on-base percentage, .542 slugging percentage and .960 OPS in those situations. His average ranked seventh among qualified major-league hitters, and 74 of his 88 RBIs came with runners in scoring position.
Bohm finished the regular season hitting .249 with 15 home runs, 29 doubles, 88 RBIs and a .698 OPS in 155 games. He then hit .333 with three RBIs during the Wild Card Series.
Dombrowski did not guarantee that Bohm would return, but he cautioned against allowing the infielder’s shortcomings to overshadow everything he has provided.
“It’s amazing sometimes when you look at a player day in and day out, sometimes you remember more negatives than you do positives,” Dombrowski said at the Phillies’ end-of-season press conference. “There are a lot of positives.”
“If Alec is not back with us, those 90 runs he drives in every year will be missed,” he added. “You’ll have to pick it up in other ways.”
Offseason outlook
Bohm’s free agency forces the Phillies to weigh a valuable skill against the limitations that accompany it.
He is not the traditional power hitter teams expect from a corner-infield position. Bohm has never hit more than 20 home runs in a season, and his career high came in 2023. But he has driven in at least 85 runs in three of the last four seasons, making him one of only seven right-handed hitters in baseball to do so.
The defensive evaluation is less favorable.
Bohm appeared in 106 games at third base and 50 at first after the Phillies acquired Luis Arraez and rearranged their infield. Statcast credited him with minus-8 Outs Above Average at third and minus-3 at first.
His ability to play both corners should expand the number of clubs that can pursue him, but the flexibility would be less useful in Philadelphia. Dombrowski has already said Bryce Harper will enter 2027 as the Phillies’ first baseman. If Bohm returns, he would return as their third baseman.
“Harper’s going to be our first baseman,” Dombrowski said. “If Bohm’s coming back, that means he has to be our third baseman. So, how does that compare with him as a third baseman, an all-around player, versus some other things that we could do?”
The Phillies have several alternatives to consider.
Bryson Stott showed that he can move from second to third, while top prospect Aidan Miller received his first professional work at the position late in the season. Miller’s back injury prevented him from reaching the majors in 2026, but a healthy year could put him in Philadelphia at some point next season.
Miller has not played the outfield professionally, but that could eventually become another possibility. If Turner shows that he can remain at shortstop, Bohm returns at third and Stott stays at second, the Phillies could consider introducing Miller to the outfield rather than leave their best position-player prospect blocked.
If Bohm leaves, third base would provide Miller with a more direct path to the majors.
The Phillies have also scouted Japanese third baseman Teruaki Sato, whose power would give the lineup a dimension Bohm does not. Sato hits left-handed, however, which would further increase the need to add right-handed power elsewhere.
That need already existed last winter, when the Phillies signed Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million contract. García’s season never came together, but the reasoning behind the move has not changed.
If Bohm returns, the Phillies would still have to add a right-handed hitter with greater home-run potential. With Harper returning to first base and Kyle Schwarber occupying designated hitter, the most logical place to find that power would be the outfield.
Bohm has received more career plate appearances in the cleanup spot than anywhere else, but his profile may be better suited to hitting fifth or sixth, where Harper and Schwarber can create traffic ahead of him.
The Phillies cannot confuse that run production with middle-of-the-order power, though. Bohm can remain part of a productive offense, but he cannot be the only answer for a group that finished 22nd in the majors in OPS.
His market could also place the Phillies in an uncomfortable position.
Bohm will play next season at 30 and reaches free agency in a thin group of available third basemen. Spotrac’s early projection places him near three years and $38 million. Given the limited alternatives and his record of run production, a three-year deal carrying an average annual value between $13 million and $16 million appears realistic. A fourth-year option could push the guarantee higher.
The Angels, Cardinals and Reds are among the clubs that could seek an everyday third baseman. A team such as Minnesota could view him primarily at first.
Before Bohm reaches that market, the Phillies must decide whether to extend him a qualifying offer.
The one-year offer is worth $23.15 million. Philadelphia can make it through the fifth day after the World Series, and Bohm would then have one week to accept or decline. Dombrowski said the Phillies had not reached a decision when he held his year-end press conference.
That salary would represent a significant raise from the $10.2 million Bohm made this season and would exceed the likely annual value of a multiyear contract. If he declines and signs elsewhere, the Phillies would receive draft-pick compensation, although their luxury-tax status would push that selection beyond the fourth round.
Prediction
The Phillies extend the qualifying offer, and Bohm accepts it.
It would be an expensive one-year agreement, but it may be the cleanest compromise for both sides.
Bohm would receive the largest salary of his career and another opportunity to enter free agency after a stronger overall season. The Phillies would retain a right-handed hitter who has repeatedly driven in runs without committing three or four years to a position that could eventually belong to Miller.
A one-year return would preserve their options. Stott could still move around the infield, Miller could force his way into the lineup at third or potentially in the outfield, and the Phillies would have another offseason to determine where Turner fits beyond 2027.
Bohm made it clear after the Wild Card Series that he would welcome another opportunity in Philadelphia.
Asked what the organization meant to him if Game 3 had been his final appearance as a Phillie, Bohm answered, “Everything.” He said he grew up in Philadelphia, loved his time with the club and would remain grateful for how the organization helped him develop.
“I have no idea what to expect, but I’d love to be back,” Bohm said.
He later added: “I feel like we have unfinished business here. I want to be a part of this. I want to get it done, for sure.”
His October home run will not make the Phillies’ decision for them. The qualifying offer could give Bohm one more year to try to finish that business.
