Phillies just benched Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm should be next

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost four of six to drop to second place in the competitive NL East. It's far too early in the season for sweeping takeaways, but it's clear the offense still needs a lot of work.

Philadelphia should win plenty of games on the strength of its pitching, but the Phils were shut out twice in their most recent series against the St. Louis Cardinals. This is an experienced lineup with plenty of traditional pop, but aside from Kyle Schwarber's red-hot start, the positives have been few and far between.

The bottom of the lineup has been especially problematic. After Dave Dombrowski refused to invest full-stop in the outfield, Brandon Marsh was in-line to start in centerfield this season. The lefty deserved a chance to expand his hitting profile and win the job, but the early returns have been less than promising.

Through 14 games, Marsh is slashing .108/.250/.189 with one home run and four RBI. His minus-0.4 WAR paints a grim portrait. The Phillies need to explore alternatives. Right on cue, Marsh was left out of the Phillies' lineup for their Monday night showdown with the San Francisco Giants. Johan Rojas will get the start in his place.

Rob Thomson called it a "mental and physical blow" for the 27-year-old.

Perhaps he should follow that same strategy with another key piece of the Phillies lineup: Alec Bohm.

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Phillies should have seen Alec Bohm's rough start

Aside from Marsh, Bohm has been far and away the most disappointing Phillies performer out of the gate. What stinks is how predictable it was. Bohm was swinging at air in the 2024 playoffs after his production plummeted post-All-Star break. This is just a continuation of that trend.

The 28-year-old third baseman is slashing .150/.164/.167 with zero home runs and three RBI through 14 games. Bohm, who made his bones with hard contact and extra-base rips a season ago, has recorded just one extra-base hit so far in 2025. He is 1-for-20 over the last five games with seven strikeouts. His lone hit was a groundball to shortstop.

For whatever reason, Bohm has lost all concept of how to work a count and exploit a pitcher's mistakes. He's jumping at the first pitch far too often. When he gets ahead in the count, Bohm often undermines his own discipline with silly chases and untimely whiffs.

We know what Bohm is capable of when he's locked in, but it has been damn near a year since Bohm was operating at his peak. The Phillies can't keep wasting ABs in the middle of the lineup. More than a demotion, Bohm could be next in line for a straight benching — especially with how well Edmundo Sosa (1.057 OPS) has performed in spot starts.

Bohm was a popular name in trade rumors early in the offseason, but the Phillies never made a real effort to upgrade. Names like Willy Adames and Alex Bregman passed them by and it became clear that Bohm, for better or worse, was their starting third baseman of the future.

He could end up on the chopping block at the trade deadline, but until then, Philadelphia needs to strongly consider bumping Bohm down in the organizational hierarchy until he figures out his swing.