The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched the NL East, a postseason spot, and are two wins or two Los Angeles Dodgers' losses from clinching a first-round bye. With six games left, the Phillies are looking to make any last-minute adjustments for the postseason.
One of the big changes coming for the Phillies will be the return of Trea Turner. For now, he's still waiting to make that return, but a different Phillies infielder has already come back, as Alec Bohm is off the injured list for the second time this season.
After a strong series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Matt Gelb of The Athletic shared comments from Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who revealed that the Phillies are making a change to Bohm in the lineup, moving him up to cleanup behind Bryce Harper.
The Phillies are planning to move Alec Bohm up in the lineup
"I'll probably have to move him up," Rob Thomson said. "he's on everything. Maybe that healthy shoulder is what we're looking for."
Bohm, in his return to the lineup, went 2/5 in the first game of the series with three RBIs and one run scored, 2/4 in the second game with a solo home run, his first since August 17th, and finally went 4/4 with a walk in his third game back from injury.
It was exactly what the Phillies needed to see, and as Thomson mentions, it is setting the Phillies up to move Bohm to the cleanup spot in the batting order. He'll once again be protecting Harper, but if he is hitting the ball this well, he's more than worthy of that spot.
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With Bohm back and Turner closing in on a return, the Phillies could trot out a familiar lineup. Turner leads off, Kyle Schwarber hits second, Harper third, Bohm fourth, and then the rest of the lineup is adjusted depending on the handedness of the pitcher on the mound.
Against left-handed pitchers, Harrison Bader or JT Realmuto could hit fifth, while a right-handed pitcher could have Brandon Marsh hitting fifth and Bader sixth, with Realmuto seventh, Max Kepler eighth, and Bryson Stott hitting ninth.
With the Phillies getting their injured players back heading into the final week of the season, their lineup is coming into shape. The platoons in left and right field have worked, and if Bohm continues to hit as well as he did against the Diamondbacks, he's locked into the cleanup spot for the postseason.
He's hit there before, but after struggling for parts of the season, he was moved down in the lineup. Now, with his strong Diamondbacks series and the comments from Thomson, he's expected to protect Harper once more heading into the 2025 MLB postseason.
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