The Philadelphia Phillies could make blockbuster moves this winter.
After failing to cash in on a successful regular season where they won their first NL East title since 2011, all things are seemingly on the table for this front office as they search for a way to solidify this roster.
Despite the team looking like one of the best in Major League Baseball, clear holes became apparent during the latter part of the year and in the playoffs when the outfield production was poor and the bullpen crumbled.
But with long-term contracts already on the books, it’s going to be hard to overhaul this group.
One way they could do that is by trading away one of their most valuable assets, first time All-Star Alec Bohm, who is still under club control for two more seasons before he becomes a free agent.
Normally, teams don’t even entertain the thought of shipping out someone like the 28-year-old who put together an OPS+ of 117 and wRC+ of 115 with 15 homers and 97 RBI, but this situation is different, with Philadelphia needing consistent producers across the entire lineup.
It was reported they are now officially entertaining trade offers for Bohm, so something could be coming down the pike eventually.
Why might the Phillies be so willing to move off the rising star?
Former World Series champion and two-time All-Star, A.J. Pierzynski, shared a bombshell report on his “Foul Territory Show” podcast that there is more behind this potential trade than just bolstering the roster by using him as a moveable piece.
“There are some people around that organization that aren’t huge fans of the way he acts sometimes. And I am just going to leave it at that. There are some people that have said he needs to basically grow up a little bit. He got benched in the playoffs. If you remember in Game 3 he got benched. It had to do with both [underperformance and immaturity],” he said.
Wow.
It’s long been surmised that Bohm’s poor attitude was something manager Rob Thomson was dealing with internally, having to make sure the moody player was locked in or else it would affect his performance.
“This came from people around the Phillies. I am not saying Dave Dombrowski, Sam Fuld, or Rob Thomson [said it]. But it came from people around and have a lot of knowledge about the Phillies. That he needs to take the next step as a maturing adult,” Pierzynski added.
That’s quite the nugget of information.
Bohm is a streaky player, and his attitude could have a lot to do with it.
Philadelphia has a roster made up of seasoned professionals who are either in their primes or are in the backend of their careers searching for a World Series title.
If Bohm is not going about things in a mature manner, like this information from Pierzynski is suggesting, then that could create an underlying issue within the clubhouse.
This also makes it pretty clear the Phillies are looking to ship the rising star out of town this winter, and if that’s the case, they should do whatever it takes to bring in Alex Bregman as his replacement.
Adding the two-time World Series champion who is in the middle of his prime as an established elite third baseman would take this roster to the next level, which is the exact thing Philadelphia is looking for this offseason.
