Phillies expected to make big Adolis Garcia, Alec Bohm change for Cubs series

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the middle of a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that isn't carrying any left-handed relievers in its bullpen.

That's allowed the Phillies to trot out lineups with Brandon Marsh hitting cleanup instead of Alec Bohm, who's been moved down to eighth in the order.

But, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, these changes are going to be even greater during the series against the Chicago Cubs beginning April 13th. Not only is a big change coming for Bohm, but also for Adolis Garcia in this big early-season series.

Phillies expected to make big Alec Bohm, Adolis Garcia changes

"Expect Adolis Garcia to be the Phillies' cleanup hitter beginning Monday, when the Cubs come to town," Zolecki reports. "Alec Bohm is hitting eighth today, leaving RH options to Garcia and J.T. Realmuto."

This decision from the Phillies is one that Rob Thomson teased this weekend, when he said, "I think Garcia is a strong candidate," to take over at cleanup.

The Phillies switching from Bohm to Garcia in the cleanup spot isn't a bad idea at all. In fact, it's something the Phillies probably should've done a while ago.

Garcia is hitting .229 with an OPS of .679. That's not a great number by any means, but it's significantly better than what Bohm has done this year.

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After his Opening Day home run, Bohm has struggled a ton. He is hitting .170 with a .505 OPS, only better than Bryson Stott's .443 OPS among the everyday starters.

Realmuto could've been an option for the cleanup spot, but Garcia's power, with his two homers this season, tied for second-most on the roster, is something the Phillies want to have behind Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in the lineup.

The Phillies' offense has been struggling a lot this season, and getting better production out of the four spot in the lineup would be huge for this team.

Thomson and the Phillies are hoping Garcia will do just that, as Bohm has lost that spot in the order, moving as far down as the eight hole in the new-look lineup.

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