Struggling Alec Bohm believes he has ‘a lot of time on my side’ to break out of his slump

Alec Bohm knew he wasn’t in the Phillies’ lineup before he got to the ballpark Thursday. But interim manager Don Mattingly greeted him with unusual instructions.

“I’d like to see you not pick up a bat today,” Mattingly said.

Through six weeks, Bohm has been among the worst hitters in the majors. He’s batting .159 with one homer and a .433 OPS. He has barreled one pitch and hit only four in the air to left field. The Phillies dropped him from the cleanup spot on opening day to eighth this week.

Maybe two days off — completely off — could help Bohm clear his head?

» READ MORE: The Phillies have an Alec Bohm problem. What are their options? And how long can they wait?

“Just getting off your feet, getting away, watching a game can be, I guess, just refreshing for your head a little bit sometimes,” Bohm said Friday, his second day in a row out of the lineup. ”I can just relax you a little bit in a way."

Bohm is scheduled to return to his spot at third base Saturday, according to Mattingly. But not before he complied with Mattingly’s request. He didn’t hit or take infield practice Thursday, then took an extended session of batting practice Friday.

A year ago, Bohm got off to a 9-for-60 start with a .331 OPS before turning things around. By the middle of June, he was batting .291 with a .744 OPS.

Surely, then, Bohm can take solace in the fact that he’s been here before. But this season-opening slump is deeper and has lasted longer.

“There’s no real right answer to, ‘Why isn’t he hitting?’” Bohm said. “It’s just probably a combination of a lot of different things. There’s some balls that could roll through some holes. There’s just little things like that, where, somewhere throughout this first month and a half or so, if I could have just found five more hits, we’re in a probably pretty different spot.

“Results-wise, it feels similar [to last year]. But it’s also the similarity of the starts that gives me the faith that it’s not as bad as it seems, and I’ve got a lot of time on my side to turn it around.”

Bohm, who turns 30 in August, will be a free agent after the season. He’s also suing his parents in Philadelphia court, alleging a multimillion-dollar mismanagement of his finances.

It’s a lot to compartmentalize, especially when he isn’t hitting.

“I think everybody’s got their [stuff],” Bohm said. “Like, everybody goes through stuff. We have a really good group in the locker room, and I feel like it’s easy to show up here and leave it at the door. When 6:40 or 7:10 or whatever the time the game is comes, it’s all about baseball. It’s all about doing your job.”

And Bohm noted that he’s had multiple monthlong hot stretches in seven major-league seasons. He batted .434 with a 1.088 OPS in July 2022 and .370 with a 1.078 OPS in April 2024 when he was an All-Star.

The point: Things can change quickly.

» READ MORE: Over? History shows it’s not over for the Phillies’ season. Here’s what it took for others to turn it around.

“You can’t turn back time,” Bohm said. “You can’t change what has already happened. So, I mean, it’s just moving forward. I’ve been really just exercising every option, looking at stuff, video, whatever, doing different drills. I feel like I’ve left no stone unturned.

“It’s just one of those things where a little spark starts a fire. Who’s to say in June I don’t go hit .405 and then the number on the scoreboard looks a lot different and everybody forgets what happened in April.

“I would be a lot more surprised if I hit .150 all year than if I didn’t get hot and have a really good stretch.”

The Phillies are reviving the left field experiment with Edmundo Sosa.

Sosa started at third base again with Bohm on the bench. But he also took fly balls in left field for the first time since early last season when the Phillies aborted a brief tryout for Sosa in the outfield after a fly ball fell between him and center fielder Johan Rojas.

“I want as much versatility within our lineup,” Mattingly said. “He’s a good athlete. It sounded like it was one play the last time he played out there that went bad, and then we abandoned it. For me, I’m putting him out there, letting him get some work out there.”

It appears the Phillies will face Ranger Suárez next week in Boston, after all. After leaving his most recent start for the Red Sox with tightness in his right hamstring, Suárez is on track to pitch “sometime” in the series against the Phillies, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters. Suárez signed a five-year, $140 million contract with the Red Sox in the offseason. … Aaron Nola (2-3, 5.06 ERA) is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. Saturday against Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland (1-3, 5.04).