In a bit of a surprising move, Phillies manager Rob Thomson is sitting third baseman Alec Bohm in Sunday’s Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
Bohm, an All-Star and one of the Phillies’ better bats this season, went 0-for-4 in a 6-2 loss to the New York Mets in Game 1. He slammed his helmet down in frustration in his last at-bat. He finished the regular season with two hits in his last six games.
Thomson said Bohm is healthy. It’s more about adding Edmundo Sosa and infusing some energy into the Phillies lineup.
“He’s scuffling a little bit,” Thomson said. “It’s not like there aren’t other guys scuffling in the lineup, but I just want to get some energy in the lineup. I think Sosa is kind of our energy guy. Running around, doing some things, creating some things.”
Thomson said he texted Bohm last night about the decision and talked with him about it in the morning. He’ll be available to pinch hit off the bench.
“He’s actually a really good pinch hitter,” Thomson said. Bohm is 0-for-3 in three pinch hit at-bats this season, but 6-for-17 in his career. Most of those at-bats came in the 2021 season.
On how Bohm handled the decision, Thomson said, “Oh, he wants to play. No doubt, but he’s a pro.”
It’s concerning that Thomson is even discussing infusing energy into the lineup two games into the postseason. You would think a team that has been craving for months for the calendar to turn to October would be capable of creating its own energy.
Is the pressure to win getting to them? Is all the talk about chasing out of the zone in their heads?
“I hope it is in their heads, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said. “You gotta adjust. They get it. They understand. I mean, I know that our hitting coaches have been talking about it. They know all about it.”
Think back to last year’s National League Championship Series. Bohm, who was not the only hitter struggling, came into the last two games of the series with a .593 OPS in the 2023 postseason, but Thomson continued to bat him cleanup. Thomson did not move Bohm down in the order, and Bohm ended up getting three hits, including a home run in Game 7, over the final two games.
This is a deviation from Thomson’s typical approach to lineup construction. He is often criticized for not sitting struggling players. Sometimes, his way works. Many were calling for Nick Castellanos to be benched as he struggled early on the season, but the Phillies right fielder rebounded in a big way and ended up playing all 162 games.
If Sosa, who posted a .635 OPS against righties this season, comes up with a big hit and the Phillies win, Thomson will look like a genius. If the Phillies bats look lifeless once again as they battle the shadows and go down 0-2, there will heat on both the players and the manager.
