Despite owning the second-worst OPS among qualified hitters, Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm will remain in the lineup moving forward, interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters after a dominant win over the Athletics on Tuesday, May 5.
“I’ve seen Alec,” Mattingly said, relayed by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “He’s another big sample, he’s always hit. Smaller sample, he’s not hitting right now. And I think last year he may have started out slowly also. So it’s not like this is totally out of the norm.”
The comments came after a 1-for-3 effort from Bohm, which boosted his batting average to .161. The 29-year-old has a .440 OPS and a 23 wRC+ through 139 plate appearances. Only Cedric Mullins of the Tampa Bay Rays has been worse by those metrics this season, among qualified players.
Philadelphia Phillies Lineup Will Continue to Include Struggling Alec Bohm
Bohm has been a slightly above league-average bat in each of the past three seasons. He hasn’t recorded a wRC+ below 100 since 2022. Bohm has hit at least .280 in each of the past four seasons. Since he became Philadelphia’s regular third baseman in 2022, he’s recorded 500+ plate appearances every year. He’s been one of the most consistent presences in the Phillies lineup.
The stats back up Mattingly’s assertion that Bohm got off to a similarly slow start in 2025. The third baseman has a .526 OPS through April. He picked up the production in May, slashing .324/.364/.510 across 102 at-bats. Bohm didn’t hit his first home run of the season until May 6. He went on to hit five that month. Bohm batted over .300 in June and maintained solid output for the rest of the year. He finished with a .741 OPS, right in line with his career norms.
“Obviously, he doesn’t wanna struggle, we don’t want him to struggle,” Mattingly said. “But from my standpoint, I’m confident in him bouncing back.”
Bohm’s underlying metrics are concerning. He has a career-low 37.1% hard-hit rate. That number has never been below 41%. Bohm has exactly one barrel this year. He has a 6.4% barrel rate for his career, so he normally barrels the ball at a below league-average clip, but a 1% barrel rate is startling. Bohm’s 88.7 mph average exit velocity is down more than 2 mph from last season.
Who Would Replace Bohm in the Phillies’ Lineup?
GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 28: Don Mattingly, interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, walks off the field by Alec Bohm #28 in the eighth inning during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park on April 28, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Bohm has taken almost all of the reps at third base this season. Edmundo Sosa has spent three games at the hot corner. He’s recorded 12 plate appearances while in the lineup at the position. The right-handed Sosa would make for an awkward platoon partner for Bohm.
Aidan Miller is likely the long-term answer at third base, but he’s yet to debut in the minors this season due to a back injury. Otto Kemp is back in Triple-A, where he’s notched an uninspiring 99 wRC+. He has experience at third base, but he’s mostly flopped in his big-league chances.
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