The Phillies have run into a problem they can’t ignore much longer: Bryce Harper’s move back to the outfield is bothering his left knee, and the ripple effect is putting Alec Bohm squarely on the hot seat.
Philadelphia’s trade for Luis Arraez at the deadline was supposed to juice the offense, and in one sense it has. Harper has been walking more since Arraez arrived, even if Arraez himself has cooled off some lately.
But the defensive reshuffling that came with the move has created a mess. Bryson Stott shifted to third base, Bohm slid to first, and Harper was pushed back out into the grass.
That’s where the trouble started.
According to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, Harper has been dealing with soreness in his left knee since the outfield move. “In the aftermath, he dealt with soreness in his left knee that lingered into the Home Run Derby the following week,” Varnes writes. “The pain eventually subsided until he started playing the outfield again last week.”
Harper acknowledged the issue himself, saying, “I was not feeling it, but the more I've ramped it up, I've gotten sore. I think the more I play, I think it'll help me - just getting in condition more.”
The Phillies now have to decide whether it makes any sense to keep forcing Harper into right field just to preserve Bohm’s spot in the lineup. Based on Bohm’s season, the answer is hard to justify.
Bohm has been one of the least productive regulars in the sport this year. His -1.2 bWAR is the fifth-worst mark in baseball, and he’s played 116 games.
No one else in that bottom-five group has even reached 80 games played. At the plate, he’s hitting .228 with a .649 OPS, and he’s added almost nothing on the bases.
The glove hasn’t helped either, whether he’s been at first base or third. He’s also grounded into 16 double plays, which ranks third in the majors.
That’s a lot of underwhelming production for a player who is now being protected at the expense of Harper’s health.
Philadelphia needs to stop treating this as a necessary tradeoff. Harper should not be pushed into the outfield if it risks making the knee worse, especially not for the sake of keeping Bohm around. The cleaner solution is to move Harper back to first base or DH and let Kyle Schwarber handle first.
If the Phillies need another outfield option, there are alternatives. Edmundo Sosa, Derek Hill, Bryan De La Cruz, and even minor leaguers Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Felix Reyes would make more sense than continuing to run Bohm out there.
At this point, the Phillies have to choose between the injury risk to Harper and the limited production Bohm is providing. That’s not much of a choice. Whether they bench Bohm, designate him for assignment, release him, or send him to the minors if he’ll accept it, the message is the same: it’s time to move on.
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