If the players can’t change, it’s time to change the players

Explaining why Alec Bohm is on the trade market

Check at my swag, yo, I walk like a ball player.

No matter where you go, you are what you are player.

And you can try to change but that’s just the top layer.

Man, you was who you was ‘fore you got here.

Jay-Z, Public Service Announcement

While there hasn’t been any substantial hot stove action for the Phillies so far this offseason, the rumor mill has been running at full speed. And it’s been made very clear that the team is very open to the idea of trading third baseman Alec Bohm.

It may seem odd that the Phillies are interested in trading Bohm. Compared to the rest of the roster, he’s inexpensive and young, and he just had his best full season in the majors, earning the starting third baseman spot on the National League’s All-Star team.

There have been whispers that the Phillies aren’t crazy about his attitude, and some front office members may have tired of his visible tantrums when things go poorly. But the real motivation for trading Bohm is probably because changes are clearly needed to the Phillies lineup, and third base is one of the few places they can make a change.

For the second straight year, the Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs largely because the offense came up small. A big reason for that was their inability to work long at bats and refrain from swinging at “pitchers’ pitches.”

“Be more patient” seems like it might be an easy fix for a major league hitter, but you have to keep something in mind: It is extremely difficult to make it to the major leagues. It’s been said that hitting a baseball is perhaps the hardest feat in sports, and to be able to do that at a high level in the major league takes years of hard work. Along the way, batters have likely made many adjustments to their approach to find something that works, and then countless hours of practice to make those adjustments permanent.

Some players have succeeded by being patient. These hitters have a keen eye and have confidence that they’ll still be able to hit the ball while down in the count. But that approach doesn’t work for everyone. Some hitters need to swing at the first hittable pitch they see. That’s what they did to make it to the big leagues, and that’s how they’ve excelled once they got there.

Because that approach is so engrained in their identity as a player, asking an established major league hitter to alter his basic approach to hitting probably isn’t going to go well. Asking a player to make such an adjustment in the middle of a playoff series feels like a surefire recipe for failure. Perhaps a player could spend the offseason making a concerted attempt to change their hitting style, but generally speaking, trying to do so on the fly will likely result in uncomfortable plate appearances.

Additionally, when players get into tough situations, those new adjustments are probably going to be quickly discarded. If a player slumps, he’s likely going to revert back to the approach that worked to get him to the major leagues in the first place.

In the short sample size of a playoff series, that reversion will come ever sooner. Unless they encounter almost immediate success, they’ll revert to their basic identity as a hitter. People criticized the Phillies seemingly swinging away for home runs in the NLDS, but the one game they won was largely powered by Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos hitting home runs. That might have sent the message to the team that swinging for home runs is actually a successful strategy, so they should all probably follow suit.

Since asking the players to change their hitting style is unlikely to work, the team’s only real chance for improvement is to change who the players are. While Bohm isn’t the team’s only aggressive hitter, he’s also one of the few who could be traded for a decent return and perhaps be replaced by a more patient hitter. There have also been rumblings that the Phillies would listen to trade offers for outfielders Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos, both of whom have similar aggressive hitting styles.

I’m not crazy about the idea of giving Alex Bregman a long-term deal, but 2023 aside, he’s always had a high walk rate. The team might decide that he would help provide some balance to the aggressive approach of many other Phillies batters.

It’s never easy to trade veteran players who have been a big part of the team’s success. But after two straight years of playoff failures, it feels like something has to be done. And if you can’t count on the players themselves changing, then it is probably time to change the players.