Phillies’ Alec Bohm felt ‘well-prepared’ for his winning arbitration case

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Alec Bohm is represented by agent Scott Boras, not Vito Corleone. But in the hours and days leading up to his salary arbitration hearing against the Phillies, the third baseman got advice that was straight out of The Godfather.

It’s business, not personal.

Bohm won his case, receiving his desired $4 million salary for 2024 rather than the Phillies’ offer of $3.4 million. But not before he sat across the table from team officials at a hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., and listened to a case for why he should receive a smaller raise.

“I feel like I was pretty well-prepared leading up to it,” said Bohm, who returned to Phillies camp Saturday. “Kind of knew what to expect and was kind of ready.”

Bohm, after all, is accustomed to criticism. Drafted third overall in 2018, he came to the majors in 2020 and struggled badly in 2021. He even was available in potential trades in 2022.

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And when Bohm made three errors in a game early in the 2022 season, he got booed at Citizens Bank Park and famously was caught on camera telling a teammate, “I [obscenity] hate this place.” Bohm apologized after the game and received an ovation the following night.

“If you’re going to play this game, do the things that we do, especially in this city, you’ve got to have thick skin,” Bohm said. “So I wasn’t too taken aback by anything or have my feelings hurt or anything like that.”

Bohm batted .274/.327/.437 with a career-high 20 homers and 97 RBIs last season. The Phillies’ case centered on his well-known defensive shortcomings at third base. Despite making improvements over the past few seasons, Bohm is 46 runs below average at third base in his career, according to defensive runs saved.

With Bryce Harper moving to first base on a permanent basis, Bohm is expected to remain at third this season.

“I think the experience last year of playing both and bouncing back and forth made me a little more comfortable at third,” Bohm said. “Playing both sides of the field, seeing different angles definitely served a purpose and helped me in a way.”

Kyle Schwarber was playing through some pain last year. He won’t talk about it much publicly, but at minimum, his knees were hindered. He was proactive this offseason and did some agility work to help prevent future injuries.

“I definitely feel better,” Schwarber said Saturday, the day he reported to camp. “Feel healthier. Hope to keep that trend going. There’s things that pop up through the course of the year, it is what it is. I’ll work through them. But I definitely feel like I’m in a way better spot than I felt last April.

“I think it’s more focusing on different movements and things like that, strengthening some things in your legs. Be able to make sure that some of those things don’t pop up. Try to cover all of your bases — not that you don’t [normally] — but you want to be a little bit more particular about what you do. I feel like our strength staff and trainers did a really good job of putting a plan together. It went well.”

The Phillies have made it clear that they want Schwarber to spend the bulk of his time at DH this season. But he will still get a “normal amount” of outfield work in this spring to prepare himself for moments he does have to play in left field.

“If it’s going to be full-time [at DH], I still feel like I don’t want to be a clog there,” Schwarber said. “This is a long season. There are going to be guys who will need days off their feet. And if I need to go out there and play left field, that’s what I’m going to do. I want to put myself in that position in spring training, and I feel like I did a pretty good job this offseason to put myself in a position to go out there and feel good.”

Manager Rob Thomson estimates that Schwarber will spend “more than 5% of his games” in the outfield.

“He’s going to get outfield reps because you’re going to have to give other guys days off,” Thomson said. “Harper, [Nick Castellanos], even some of the infielders, which moves some people around. He’s going to get some reps.”

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According to MLB Network, the Phillies signed outfielder David Dahl to a minor-league deal on Friday. Dahl, 29, adds some left-handed outfield depth and can play all three outfield spots. ... Right-handed pitcher McKinley Moore was claimed off waivers by the Yankees on Friday. Moore made his big-league debut for the Phillies in 2023 and pitched only three regular-season games. ... Infielder Diego Castillo was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Castillo was claimed off waivers by the Phillies on Feb. 5 and designated for assignment on Feb. 13.