Breaking News: Philadelphia’s Former All-Star Is a Growing Cause for Concern

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped their second consecutive series on Sunday, falling to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3. Coming off a rough trip to San Francisco where they were shut out in back-to-back games, the team hoped a return home would spark a turnaround. Instead, they dropped two of three to Arizona, with the offense continuing to sputter.

Scoring runs has been an issue from the start, which isn’t entirely surprising given that the organization didn’t make any major additions during the offseason. The roster is largely unchanged, and the offensive concerns many had heading into the year have already started to materialize.

Bryce Harper has provided some recent production, but it hasn’t been enough to compensate for the team’s broader struggles at the plate. A particularly worrying situation involves third baseman Alec Bohm, who has gotten off to a dreadful start to the season.

Bohm, once trusted as a middle-of-the-order run producer, has since been dropped to the eighth spot in the lineup. Through 14 games, he’s hitting just .148 with a .222 slugging percentage, one home run, and eight RBIs. His power numbers have been a concern for a while now, as his slugging percentage barely cleared .400 last season while both his home run and double totals declined.

The Phillies need a reliable right-handed bat between Schwarber and Harper in the lineup, and Bohm has been unable to fill that role. His demotion in the batting order signals that the team’s confidence in him as an offensive contributor has diminished, and the search for an upgrade at third base is likely to intensify.