Rob Thomson Told Alec Bohm the Phillies are not Shopping Him

Trading Alec Bohm has been on everyone's Phillies off-season bingo card since word leaked out a couple months ago that the Phillies had informed teams he was available. 

Apparently, Phillies manager Rob Thomson is saying otherwise.

Scott Lauber, Philles beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer posted on BlueSky today that Thomson told him and other reporters at the Winter Meetings in Dallas that he called Bohm yesterday and told his third baseman that the Phillies were not looking to trade him.  

Rob Thomson said he phoned Alec Bohm on Monday. "I just wanted to let him know that we're not shopping him. But because he's a good player, there's a whole lot of interest in him from other teams, so obviously you have to do your homework and talk to people and listen."

— Scott Lauber (@scottlauber.bsky.social) December 10, 2024 at 1:59 PM

"I just wanted to let him know that we're not shopping him," Thomson said, according to Lauber's post. "But, because he's a good player, there's a whole lot of interest in him from other teams, so obviously you have to do your homework and talk to people and listen."

It's interesting that someone from the Phillies would say this publicly now, when they could have easily refuted myriad previous reports on the subject but stayed radio silent on the subject. 

The timing of it translates as teams would be interested in acquiring Bohm, but probably not at the same level of value the Phillies place on him. 

The reality is that Bohm has value, but not to a rebuilding team. He's already 28 years old and only has two years of control before he hits free agency. 

As such, rebuilding teams like the Chicago White Sox, for example, who the Phillies have been linked to regarding starting pitcher Garrett Crochet, probably don't view Bohm in a way that they feel aligns with their timeline for being competitive again. As such, any deal for Crochet can't start with Bohm. 

The Phillies would have to look more toward teams that are closer to contending or are already contenders that have a need at third base to find a better match, but the problem there is those teams likely don't want to part with major league level talent to acquire Bohm. They'd much rather part with a prospect or two. 

This is why the Seattle Mariners balked at giving up either Logan Gilbert or George Kirby for him. 

I mean it’s just a perfect article summing up Alec Bohm pic.twitter.com/tdIo7CchcU

— fire dombrowski (@dalvin4mvp) December 7, 2024

Is it possible the Phillies looked at moving Bohm as their Plan A to change the roster this offseason, but not feeling they would be getting the right value for him in a trade at this point, they are shifting gears to Plan B?

Yes, that's very possible. 

But the Hot Stove is also like an intense chess match. Sometimes you float something out to make others think you are zigging when in fact you are zagging. 

Maybe the Phillies are sending signals to the other teams in the league that they are unimpressed with the offers they've received so far, so they've decided to keep their player, hoping that someone changes their mind and comes back to the Phillies with a more palatable deal.

It could be their own Operation Mincemeat. 

But if Thomson were speaking the truth, the Phillies are really short on tradable options. They don't seem like they want to move either Bryson Stott or Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos' contract would have to be mostly eaten to ship him elsewhere. 

That leaves only Ranger Suarez as a real possible trade option that can bring value, but without replacing him, the Phillies would be cutting off their nose to spite their face. 

Dave Dombrowski might be in a bit of a pickle, and if he can't traverse his way out of it and is forced to run it back - yet again - with the same roster, the Phillies will definitely have run out of good will with their fans - especially in light of the New York Mets spending funny money this offseason to land Juan Soto. 

That would not go over well with these fans.