Bohm hopes to be back to old self following uncertain offseason

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Alec Bohm got stopped by somebody different every day at the gym in Houston where he worked out this winter.

So, you, uh, getting traded or what?

No, Bohm was not getting traded. He didn¡¯t know it at the time, of course. But he wondered because the Phillies were exploring ways to improve their 2025 roster, and those discussions involved him. Bohm batted .280 with 15 home runs, 97 RBIs and a .780 OPS last season. He started at third base for the NL All-Star team. But the Phils considered moving Bohm in part because he had value as a run-producing third baseman that would not become a free agent until after the 2026 season.

¡°There were points where I guess I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen,¡± Bohm said Thursday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark. ¡°I didn¡¯t really read into it too much. I didn¡¯t really try to find the answer. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I never felt like I was going to be traded or anything like that.¡±

For now, Bohm, 28, remains with the organization that selected him with the third overall pick in the 2018 Draft.

¡°Obviously, any given time, anything in this game can happen,¡± he said. ¡°But at the same time, I love being here and I don't want to go anywhere else really.¡±

Bohm could hit third this season between Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber as Phillies manager Rob Thomson contemplates shuffling a left-handed-heavy lineup. Wherever Bohm hits, he hopes to provide consistent production from beginning to end. He batted .295 with 11 homers, 70 RBIs and an .830 OPS before the All-Star break, but .251 with four homers, 27 RBIs and a .681 OPS the rest of the way.

¡°Do we know the answer? I don't know,¡± Bohm said. ¡°The game's hard. Sometimes you struggle. I struggled at the wrong time.¡±

He battled a left-hand injury late in the season, which put him on the 10-day injured list. It likely contributed to his second-half struggles.

¡°When I started hitting again in the offseason, I realized that it hurt worse than I thought it had hurt,¡± he said. ¡°But I was out there playing, so I feel like if I¡¯m out there playing, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t do anything. But at the same time, I¡¯m sure a stronger left hand would have helped somewhere maybe. But it is what it is. Everybody¡¯s banged up, we played 162 games, guys are banged up.¡±

But Bohm also expressed his frustrations in the second half, bringing up questions about his maturity. He often slammed his helmet into the turf after making outs.

The Phillies benched him in Game 2 of the NLDS, something unfathomable at the All-Star break.

¡°I¡¯ve been known to do some wrong things at the wrong time, I guess,¡± Bohm said. ¡°It¡¯s just part of growing up, being a better player, teammate.¡±

Maybe he will handle things differently this year. Maybe he will smash a helmet in the tunnel leading to the clubhouse instead.

Chase Utley was a frequent helmet smasher when he played for the Phillies. He smashed so many one season that the team asked him to stop. But Utley never let TV cameras or anybody else inside the ballpark see it.

¡°I think it¡¯s going to be hard to find a way to care less,¡± Bohm said. ¡°So, grow up a little, I guess. I don¡¯t know, be smarter.¡±

Thomson called Bohm in December to tell him that the Phillies weren¡¯t shopping him. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski called Bohm¡¯s agent Scott Boras to tell him the same thing. The semantics of the Bohm trade discussions are inconsequential now, but the calls helped.

¡°That was good just to kind of ease my mind for sure instead of just wondering a little bit,¡± Bohm said.

If there are any lingering hard feelings about an offseason of uncertainty, Bohm didn¡¯t express it on Thursday.

¡°I feel like I¡¯m appreciated by everybody in here, so whatever circulates around, I¡¯m not too concerned about,¡± he said.

Bohm enters camp hoping to build upon the positives from last season. He hopes to learn from the negatives, too. He sees that as the best way to grow.

¡°I definitely feel like I¡¯ve experienced a lot in my short time here, but I think it¡¯s all for the better,¡± Bohm said. ¡°It hardens you a little bit, keeps your head screwed on straight, I guess.¡±