Would Philadelphia Phillies Third Baseman Alec Bohm be a Fit for A's?

The Athletics are looking for an upgrade at the hot corner this offseason, and Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has been a frequent subject of trade rumors since the season ended. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also mentioned Bohm as a possible option for the A's to target in a deal, but would he be a fit?

The short answer is of course, but the longer version leaves a little more uncertainty.

Bohm is estimated to make $8.1 million in arbitration for the 2025 season, and will have one more year of team control after that, his final season of arbitration. Bohm is currently 28 and coming off his best full season in the big leagues, putting up a 115 wRC+ as part of a 3.5 fWAR campaign.

The righty bat hit .280 with a .332 OBP, slugged 15 homers, and drove in 97 RBI. It was a solid campaign, and slotting him into the middle of the order along with Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler would give the A's a pretty formidable set of stars.

The A's received some of the worst production from third base in baseball in 2024, with their collection of bats putting up an 81 wRC+ (100 is league average), so adding Bohm would give the team at least a league average bat, if not more, and provide a big boost at the dish.

In terms of fWAR, the A's ranked the lowest among teams that put up a positive WAR total at 0.3, ranking them 25th overall. Behind them were the Chicago Cubs (-0.1), Los Angeles Angels (-0.1), Washington Nationals (-0.4), Cincinnati Reds (-1), and the lowly Chicago White Sox (-2.2).

Darell Hernaiz was the A's best option at third that is still on the 40-man roster, putting up a 104 wRC+ with a 0.2 fWAR in 24 games, batting .262 with a .338 OBP. He could end up being the team's fallback option if they fail to get anything done via trade or free agency.

The A's obviously have a need for a player like Bohm in their lineup, specifically at the position that he plays, too. On paper this should be an easy one for the A's to have on their to-do list.

Yet there is one key factor that could make it so that they think twice, or at least don't meet the asking price of the Phillies, and that is the lack of team control. The cost to acquire him could also be a little uncomfortable for the rebuilding Athletics, who will be vying for a .500 season in 2025, and reaching for the postseason in 2026.

According to Baseball Trade Values, a fair deal would be roughly JJ Bleday for Bohm, which isn't something the A's are likely to do for two years of the Phillies' third baseman. If they got creative and went with Hernaiz and Osvaldo Bido, or a similar type of package, then that could work a bit better. It would be eating up the A's depth at a couple of spots, but for Bohm, it would be worth it.

The question would have to be if a deal that the A's are comfortable with would be good enough for Philadelphia to agree to a deal at all.

The A's are a team looking to contend, which means that they need to add more players like Bohm in order to reach the postseason. At the same time, they will likely be reluctant to move too much of their prospect capital in order to make such a move.

If given the choice, the A's may look to someone like Brett Baty of the New York Mets, a once-touted prospect that has struggled in his time in the big leagues. Not only could the A's give him a chance to cement himself in The Show, but he would come at a lower cost via trade since he isn't as established, and he'd have more years of team control attached if it pans out.

One final factor that could push the A's back towards Bohm, even with the lack of control, is that he also just put up his best defensive season with +3 Outs Above Average at third base. Improving team defense overall has been another goal for the front office, and with the A's adding a number of ground ball specialists to pitch in Sacramento, having a sure-handed third baseman wouldn't be the worst idea.

This is definitely a move that the A's could make, but it still comes with reasons for pause.