Why Phillies are benching Alec Bohm for Edmundo Sosa vs. Athletics tonight

The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball since Don Mattingly took over for a fired Rob Thomson.

One of the big reasons for the turnaround has been the pitching staff finally dominating like they had the potential to do. But the offense has also looked a lot better lately. That is, everyone other than Alec Bohm, who is still struggling.

And with the Phillies' announced lineup for tonight's game against the Athletics, Mattingly has made a big change with his lineup. On Thursday night, the Phillies are starting Edmundo Sosa over Bohm. But why did they make this switch?

Why Phillies benched Alec Bohm for Edmundo Sosa

Against the right-handed pitcher J.T. Ginn of the Athletics, the Phillies are benching Bohm and turning to Sosa, who had the go-ahead hit during Wednesday's game.

For most of the season, Bohm has been the starting third baseman. He's played in 35 games, making 34 starts, sitting just three times this season across the 37 Phillies games this season.

And this game, the Phillies are benching Bohm in favor of Sosa at third base. Bohm has a .433 OPS this season across 126 at-bats. He's not hit a homer since Opening Day, and while he's had a few nice moments lately, his struggles haven't gone away.

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In comparison, Sosa has been much better with a .733 OPS in his 51 at-bats this season. He has one homer in fewer than half the at-bats, and is hitting .294, while Bohm has a .159 batting average.

Mattingly is shaking things up by turning to Sosa over Bohm, and it's a noteworthy change, as the Phillies clearly have uncertainty at the third base spot.

Sosa has been the better hitter this season than Bohm, so this swap shouldn't be a big surprise. But, it is noteworthy that this change is being made, as it's showing Mattingly is willing to shake things up, which Thomson wasn't keen on doing much as manager.

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