Who’s playing third base next season for the Phillies?
Eight free agents on Monday received qualifying offers from their respective clubs: pitchers Adrian Morejon, David Bednar and Trevor Rogers; catcher Ryan Jeffers; infielders Jake Bauers and Brandon Lowe; and outfielders Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki.
The Phillies did not make one to Alec Bohm or any of their other free agents.
It wasn’t a surprise the Phils didn’t make Bohm a qualifying offer. (No other Phillies free agent would’ve been a consideration.) If Bohm had been offered one and accepted it, it would have made him a signed player next season at $23.15 million. It just didn’t make sense for the Phils because they have so many other upgrades to make in the infield, outfield and bullpen. Handing Bohm that much money to play one more season at third base would have limited their ability to make improvements elsewhere.
Bohm could still return to the Phillies, of course, albeit on a smaller deal. But it’s most likely that his Phils career has come to an end after seven seasons.
Moving on is one of the easiest ways to inject new blood into a stagnant offense.
If it’s over, Bohm batted .273 with a .735 OPS and 4.9 bWAR in his seven-year Phillies career. He made the 2024 NL All-Star team, finished second for 2020 NL Rookie of the Year and played in five consecutive postseasons. He came a long way, from “I [expletive] hate this place” to a solid contributor, although he was miscast at times as the team’s cleanup hitter.
So, somebody else will need to be the Phillies’ third baseman in 2027.
It could be Bryson Stott, who finished ’26 at third.
It could be prospect Aidan Miller, if he is healthy and playing well.
The Phillies have never signed a Japanese free agent, but Teruaki Sato was made available via the posting process. The Phils could open the checkbook for Sato, but will a Japanese star want to play in Philly? It’s been a tough sell to this point. Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto had absolutely zero interest in playing for the Phillies.
But there is more than one potential spot to fill on the Phillies’ infield, which makes this situation complex. Stott could be playing second base again, if the Phillies don’t bring back Luis Arraez, who is a free agent.
Stott could be playing shortstop, too, if Trea Turner can’t keep his job.
Turner could move somewhere else on the infield -- second base, perhaps? -- if he needs to move off short.
Or he could move to the outfield.
There are a lot of moving pieces here, making this a fascinating offseason for Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.