Alec Bohm is an enigma. The Phillies 3B has had a tumultuous ride in the city of Brotherly Love the past few years. His experience was highlighted on April 12, 2022, when he committed three throwing errors. As the boos rained down at his home ballpark, he was caught on camera saying “I f***ing hate this place.” During the post-game press media, he owned his mistake and apologized. He handled the situation in a mature and professional manner. The Philly fans whole heartedly embraced the situation, and the game became folklore. He'd go on to produce the best season of his career that year.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to build on that career year. He has accumulated -0.9 bWAR this year.

Background

Bohm was the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Phillies out of Wichita State University. Per MLB.com’s draft scouting report, he was ranked 7th on their draft rankings list and scouted as having grades of a 55 hit tool, 55 power tool, and 55 overall. His 50 grade arm and 45 grade fielding have seemed fairly spot on. His final year in college, he hit .332/.433/.616 in 54 games. That included 15 HR, 52 RBI, and 8 SB.

Bohm was given a clear runway to take the 3B job. He debuted during the Covid-shortened 2020 season and played in 44 games at age 23. In 180 plate appearances, he slashed.338/.400/.481 and produced a 137 OPS+. However, since that season, he's never come close to replicating those offensive numbers. His only other season with an OPS+ over 110 was in 2022 (114 OPS+).

The soon-to-be 30-year-old 3B is playing out his final year of team control. In what projects to be a weak free agent 3B class, Bohm is likely to land the richest contract of his career. But what exactly does that contract look like? What is the going rate for a league average 3B seeking a multi-year deal?

Stats

Bohm has had flashes of producing an all-around, above average game. While he has played, at best, average defense at 3B (and even that is a stretch), he’s done enough damage with his bat to manage an average of 1.2 bWAR/162 games since 2022. Since 2022, he’s played in at least 143 games every year besides 2025 (120 games played). He was an All-Star at age 27 in 2024 and finished the season with a 2.8 bWAR. That would mark his best season in Philadelphia and the only season where he’s eclipsed 20 HRs. The 55 power never came to fruition, as evidenced by his .413 cumulative slugging percentage since 2022. On a 162 game average during that time frame, he’d have approximately 51 XBH on average. In 19 career post-season games, he has 23 PA and has reached base 5 times, which works out to a .511 OPS. And his defense? He's averaged -9 DRS/162 games since 2022.

Bohm has been involved in trade rumors the past two off-seasons. One deal, nixed by the Mariners, had one of Seattle’s prized young starting pitchers going to Philadelphia in exchange for Bohm. POBO Dave Dombrowski made it no secret that Bohm was involved in potential deals, but Dombrowski maintained a high asking price for Bohm. In the rumored trade discussions, Seattle would have sent George Kirby or Logan Gilbert to Philadelphia. In hindsight, you cannot blame Seattle for pulling the plug on that deal.

Potential in-house replacement candidates

Phillies top 25 prospect SS Aidan Miller is projected to have the ability to play 3B. Though naturally a shortstop, Miller is likely to slide to the hot corner in deference to starting SS Trea Turner. Miller, a 1st round pick in 2023, spent most of the 2025 season in AA but finished the final 8 games of the season in AAA. The hope was a strong finish to the season would help propel him to a strong spring, and force the Phillies into a hard decision on how to give him MLB at-bats. Unfortunately, during the spring, the speedy Miller aggravated a pre-existing back injury and he has yet to play this year. Miller does not have a timetable to return.

2026 was planned to be a key developmental year for Miller. Even the most optimistic fan likely knew Miller would spend a large portion of the year in AAA with the hope he would be MLB ready by sometime in 2026 or early 2027. Having Miller capable as a potential 3B of the future would have lined up perfectly and allowed the Phillies to easily let Bohm walk into free agency. But, with Miller facing the possibility of a lost year of reps, a bridge may be needed if Bohm walks.

The Phillies could turn to super-utility bench player Edmundo Sosa at 3B. He’s shown he has the required skills defensively to cover 3B. While Sosa has played well in extended absences of Turner and Bohm, Sosa profiles best as a valuable “6th man” off the bench. He may be stretched too far if slated for a permanent starting position.

Besides Miller and Sosa, the Phillies don't have any exciting options in the upper minors. The Phillies have top 150 prospect 2B Aroon Escobar in AA but he hasn't been lighting the world on fire (.644 OPS) after nearing top 100 lists last year. They also have top 400 prospect Carson DeMartini at AA (.793 OPS) but he doesn't profile as an upgrade over Bohm. SS Bryan Rincon has a solid glove and has hit well at AA this year (.847 OPS) but he is likely too far away from contributing for a team with World Series aspirations.

Potential contract and comparables

It has been estimated that on the open market, 1 WAR accumulated equates to approximately 10 million dollars. Bohm has produced -0.9 bWAR in 93 games this year.

Here’s a list of the highest paid 3B during the 2026 season and their total bWAR the past 2.5 seasons:

42.0 mil - Bo Bichette (NYM) - 3.1 bWAR
25.0 mil - Matt Chapman (SF) - 6.9 bWAR
22.0 mil - Austin Riley (ATL) - 4.5 bWAR
21.0 mil - Manny Machado (SD) - 7.7 bWAR
20.0 mil - Alex Bregman (CHC) - 7.6 bWAR

Since 2022, Bohm ranks 15th in fWAR amongst 3B. All stats considered, he’s been exactly league average. So what is a 30-year-old league average 3B worth? Bohm is making 10.2 million dollars in his final year of arbitration. Bohm is on pace for his worst season in his career, which would eclipse his 2021 season (his second in the majors) in which he produced -1.2 bWAR.

In the past few years, stars like Bichette and Bregman have taken shorter deals with several opt-outs. I wonder if Bohm takes a similar deal in hopes of redeeming himself from a poor 2026 season. Because even a hypothetical 3/45 or 4/60 contract could make teams balk.

Conclusion

A member of “Phillies Daycare” (along with Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott), Bohm, the former 1.03 pick, was expected to grow into a formidable middle of the order to help protect Harper in the lineup. While Bohm has shown flashes of talent with his bat, he has failed to live up to the hype. It's not a hard correlation, but the last time the Phillies went to the World Series (2022) also coincided with Bohm's career year. Call me bullish but I believe 2022 Bohm still exists… though I'm not sure if he'll return to that form in a Phillies uniform.

Stats provided by Baseball-Reference and TJ Stats

Bio:

Michael L. Sküpin is a grizzled millennial husband/dad who loves talking baseball, football, hockey, basketball, college sports, sports business, fantasy sports, and most other sports. Fandoms include Detroit, Philly, & Indy. Also happy to chat about advocacy, mental health, social justice, and self-growth. You can follow his Substack for more baseball news, analysis, and banter.

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