Philadelphia Phillies All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm may have precipitated his own impending departure out of town for reasons other than his work on the diamond in 2024.
A.J. Pierzynski on Phillies’ Alec Bohm: “Needs to take the next step as a maturing adult”
Retired MLB star A.J. Pierzynski had some bold assertions to make out about Bohm. As bold as they sound though, they are backed by sentiments from people within the franchise about the Nebraska native’s off-putting conduct. Appearing as a recent commentator on Foul Territory TV, Pierzynski said this on the matter (h/t Tim Kelly of BreakingAC.com):
“There’s some people around that organization that aren’t huge fans of the way he acts sometimes. And I’m just gonna leave it at that, but there are some people that have said he needs to basically grow up a little bit. There are some things that he’s done that people … he got benched in the playoffs basically,” Pierzynski said.
“It had to do with both. From people … and this came from people around the Phillies — I’m not saying Dave Dombrowski, or Sam Fuld or Rob Thomson … none of those people. But it came from people that are around and have a lot of knowledge about the Phillies that he needs to take the next step as a maturing adult. And I think that people, if you watch the Phillies games all the time, you know what I’m talking about.”
Phillies: Bohm was not the same player after the All-Star break
Bohm did taper off measurably from the second half of the season into the playoffs. The Wichita State product went from a stellar .295/.348/.482 slash line with an .830 OPS in the first half to slashing .251/.299/.382 with a .681 OPS in the second half. He also regressed immensely in the playoffs, where he went a forgettable 1-13 in his at-bats for a 0.77 batting average.
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His play suggests that he was not the same player before and after the All-Star festivities. However, at 28 years of age, allegations of his maturity levels not being where they need to be are certainly concerning for a franchise looking to win a World Series with their veteran group of star players.
Thus, the Phillies appear to be open to dealing Bohm for the right return. Philadelphia has been increasingly linked to two-time World Series champion Alex Bregman as a potential replacement, and St. Louis Cardinals superstar Nolan Arenado has also had his name floating around the franchise in trade rumors. No matter, the offseason will show where Bohm winds up playing next season.
