Stop blaming Alec Bohm for the failures of Phillies cleanup busts Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto

The only person who takes more undeserved blame than manager Rob Thomson for the shortcomings of the Phillies quarter-billion-dollar lineup is Alec Bohm.

Entering his sixth season, Bohm, the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, is largely considered a semi-bust, especially in the frustrated Philadelphia region. Optically, it makes sense: He’s 6-foot-5, sculpted and wide, and was expected to be a basher coming out of Wichita State who eventually would migrate from third base to first. That hasn’t happened, but he’s nowhere near a bust.

With the exception of a sophomore slump in 2021, Bohm has been a competent major league third baseman. That’s something of a miracle in itself, since the Phillies rushed him to the majors for the COVID-shortened 2020 season with zero experience in triple A.

» READ MORE: Inside the Phillies: Shane Victorino’s advice for Justin Crawford, a changing rotation, and more

Has Bohm been the homegrown stud hitter Phillies fans have craved since the days of Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Ryan Howard? No. But he hasn’t been Domonic Brown or Maikel Franco, either.

He’s been a pretty good player on some very good teams surrounded by a bunch of star hitters who couldn’t get the job done. Bohm catches shrapnel for their shortcomings more so than his own, and some folks can’t wait to get rid of him. That was never more evident this winter.

Phillies fans relished rumors that projected Bo Bichette’s arrival as a free agent, not the least because it would mean a corresponding departure by Bohm. He no longer would have a starting spot at third base with the arrival of Bichette, who would have switched from shortstop to third.

But the Bichette deal fell through at the 11th hour. That left the Phillies with Bohm and free-agent gamble Adolis García as first options to bat in the No. 4 hole behind presumptive third hitter Bryce Harper.

In Philly, all hope collapsed, because Bohm has proved himself unfit for that particular job … right?

Well, maybe.

But that’s not the point.

The point is, the Phillies spent more than $200 million so that Bohm wouldn’t have to do the job at all.

As The Inquirer reported last week, no everyday player with an OPS over .800 last season scored fewer runs than Harper’s 72. Harper’s OPS of .844 last season was his lowest in nine years, in part because he saw fewer strikes than any other everyday player. Harper was largely unprotected, and, when he reported to spring training, he let everyone know he wasn’t happy about any of it.

“I think it makes a huge impact,” he said. “I think whoever’s in that four spot is gonna have a big job to do, depending on who’s hitting three or who’s hitting two.”

» READ MORE: Jhoan Duran was once a hard-throwing minor leaguer with no nickname. Then, a coach gave him one that stuck.

That big job was never supposed to be Bohm’s job, so to paint the situation as a failure by Bohm is wildly unfair, considering what any realistic expectations might have been for a player surrounded by a constellation of supposed stars.

In 2022, in what would be Bohm’s second full season, the Phillies signed right-handed hitter Nick Castellanos, mainly to protect Harper. Castellanos utterly failed. His OPS from 2022-25 while batting fourth was .705, .853, .645, and .651. Castellanos didn’t hit behind Harper every time, but he hit behind him most of the time. He made $80 million.

When Castellanos didn’t hit fourth, Realmuto often did. He went .953 in 2022, had only 34 plate appearances in 2023 (.458)/, then went .635 in 2024 and .683 in 2025. He made $95.5 million in those four seasons.

In 2023, it occasionally fell to Bohm to hit fourth. He produced .711, .769, and .571 OPS results in the past three years. He made $12.4 million.

Despite Bohm’s poor numbers in 2025, Harper actually was his most productive when Bohm hit behind him, according to MLB.com.

» READ MORE: Selfish, insubordinate Nick Castellanos released by Phillies, then issues a wild manifesto on Instagram

When the Phillies signed Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million contract in 2022, he was projected to be the cleanup hitter not only through 2022 but also through 2026. But the Phillies released Castellanos last month. He’d been insubordinate last season, but that wasn’t the main reason, because no sport endures insubordination like baseball. Castellanos’ real sin was that, for the better part of four seasons, he stole money.

Casty’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) since 2022 was 1.3. Bohm’s was 5.8.

Who was the real disappointment?

Not only does Bohm compare favorably to the $100 million man, he compares favorably with players of his approximate age.

Among first-round hitters from 2018 with at least 1,000 plate appearances, Bohm’s 5.3 WAR ranks fourth. His .743 OPS ranks second, by just one-thousandth of a point, to Royals infielder Jonathan India. Bohm’s 70 homers rank third. His 719 games played ranks first.

What about the 2017 draft? Among first-round hitters from both 2017 and 2018 combined, Bohm is sixth in WAR, fifth in OPS, sixth in homers, and still first in games played — and yes, we omitted Kyler Murray, drafted ninth overall by the A’s but opted to play in the NFL.

» READ MORE: Kyle Schwarber is too good to bat cleanup. That, and other conclusions from last year’s lineups.

Bohm was picked high in the draft, so how does he compare to those guys? Well, among the first 10 hitters selected in both drafts combined, Murray again omitted, Bohm’s 5.3 WAR ranks second.

It’s true that 2017 is considered one of the worst drafts in recent memory, but Bohm can’t do anything about that. Simply, when compared with his peers, Bohm is outperforming almost all of them.

How does Bohm compare with the rest of baseball over his career?

Since Bohm debuted in 2020, his OPS of .743 ranks 150th among the 382 hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances. He is far above average.

We can’t make the argument that Bohm is a far above-average player. He’s not. But he’s certainly average at least, and that’s saying something. He’ll be a 30-year-old free agent after this season, and he’ll probably last at least four or five more seasons.

Historically, fewer than 20% of first-rounders collect 1,000 hits. Bohm has 753. Similarly, fewer than 10% of all major league players play at least 10 seasons. Bohm is entering his sixth.

He has been, by any measure, a good first-round pick.

Is he everything folks thought he’d be when he was drafted — that is, a middle-of-the-lineup run-producer? Not really.

Is he adequate protection for a slugger like Harper? Probably not.

Is he the most emotionally stable player? No.

In 2022, on a night when he’d struggled defensively, Bohm made a routine play. Phillies fans cheered sarcastically. TV cameras caught Bohm saying, “I [bleeping] hate this place.”

In 2024, mired in a 2-for-31 slump that bled from the end of the season into the playoffs, Bohm, in full pout mode, was benched for Game 2 of the NLDS. (His replacement, Edmundo Sosa, did not reach base in two plate appearances, Bohm pinch-hit for him and did the same, and the Phillies won.)

Bohm is not a fan favorite. Phillies fans despise a lack of mental toughness.

But Bohm did manage 97 RBIs in both 2023 and 2024. He did hit 20 home runs in 2023, and he was an All-Star in 2024. He worked hard enough at third base to progress from utterly disastrous in his first two seasons to perfectly acceptable in his last three seasons.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper and Scott Boras are right. Here’s a wild stat that makes their point.

Will he hit well enough to protect Harper this year? Probably not. Will García? Probably not.

His overall .675 OPS the past two seasons is far below Bohm’s .762. García was at .712 in the cleanup spot in 2024, .662 in 2025. He’s on a one-year, $10 million deal.

Bohm is making $10.2 million. It’s the first time in his career that he’s outearning the guy who’s being paid to do a job Bohm never was meant to do … unless you count Realmuto, whom the Phillies just re-signed. He’ll make $15 million this season.

For that kind of money, maybe every once in a while J.T. could help out at the four-spot.