Unorthodox Phillies trade idea replaces Alec Bohm with Blue Jays $33 million All-Star

It's been a rough 10 months for Alec Bohm.

Last July, the Philadelphia Phillies' third baseman was appearing in his first All-Star Game while enjoying what looked like a true coming-out party. But his numbers have been in a tailspin ever since, and questions about his ability to keep the Phillies' starting job have been swirling around.

Bohm is slashing .228/.267/.283 this season, good for a 54 OPS+ and -0.8 bWAR. He was engulfed in trade rumors all winter, but if anything is slowing down those rumors, it's that it's hard to imagine which teams might want him now.

Meanwhile, one baseball writer is calling on the Phillies to acquire a rental infielder to replace Bohm in the starting lineup.

On Saturday, Athlon's Jon Conahan named Toronto Blue Jays shortstop and two-time American League All-Star Bo Bichette, an impending free agent, as a possible Phillies trade target.

"If the Blue Jays are willing to move on from Bichette, it seems likely that the Phillies would have some level of interest," Conahan wrote. "He'd be the perfect player for the short and long term, as he could be the clear replacement for Bohm.

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"Obviously, Bichette is a shortstop, so the team would have to hope he'd be willing to move over to third base. Whether he can handle that remains to be seen, but he hasn't played there throughout his career."

This would be the ultimate risky play for the Phillies for a couple of reasons. First, most of the statements about Bohm's streakiness also apply to Bichette right now, who hasn't hit a home run in nearly a full calendar year. Second, Bohm is under contract for 2026; Bichette isn't.

Bichette's three-year, $33 million arbitration extension pays him $17.5 million this year, though he only counts for $11.2 million against the luxury tax.

Either way, he's more expensive than Bohm in the short term, and the Phillies would have to be desperate to pay more than double the price for production at the hot corner.

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