The Philadelphia Phillies have to be utterly perplexed by the career trajectory of Alec Bohm.
At this time a year ago, Bohm was having what looked to be a breakout season, en route to his first All-Star appearance at age 27. Fast forward a year, and he's been one of the worst qualified hitters in Major League Baseball for 10 straight months.
Bohm has heated up a bit over his last four games, so perhaps he can quiet any talks about replacing him if he keeps this up. But after an offseason full of trade rumors, Bohm hasn't done himself any favors in 2025.
One baseball analyst thinks the Phillies could go an unexpected direction to find Bohm's replacement, and it involves a trade that many fans would scream out against in furious dissent.
In a recent YouTube video, Jim Riley of BALLCAP Sports proposed swapping the Phillies' number-one prospect, right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter, for Baltimore Orioles third-base prospect Coby Mayo, who is big-league ready but doesn't have a spot in the starting lineup.
"As far as Philly goes, I don't know," Riley said. "Alec Bohm (has been) up and down. Is he the guy? Is he not the guy? What do we do? I think we have a spot... with the Phillies."
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"Obviously, Andrew Painter fits in as a rotation piece that you build around for years to come, as Nola moves on and Wheeler moves on. But if you are looking for a bat right now with some pop, with some thump, maybe you go with Mayo."
Not only is Mayo 4-for-49 as a big-leaguer, but Painter is borderline untouchable at this point. Even if the 22-year-old righty isn't ready to debut in the majors this summer, he's got the stuff to be a front-line starter starting in 2026.
Now, if a deal could get done for Mayo with two or three lesser prospects rather than Painter, the Phillies might at least consider the possibility. Especially, that is, if they already have designs on moving on from Bohm.
But as things stand, it would be an absolute stunner to see the Phillies pull the trigger on a move this seismic.
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