Philadelphia Phillies' Cleanup Spot Is Concerning Heading into Spring Training

One lingering question for the Philadelphia Phillies is sorting out who will be their clean-up hitter this season.

Oct 5, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) reacts after the final out in the eighth inning against the New York Mets in game one of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

It has been a solid offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies with the start of Spring Training right around the corner.

The Phillies came into the winter as a team that appeared to be looking to shake things up after a loss in the National League Division Series to the New York Mets. However, while some changes were made, it wasn’t a complete teardown of what was a really good team in 2024.

Considering the core of the team is still intact for Philadelphia, running it back and making a couple of minor tweaks made sense.

Some of the more notable additions were pitchers Jesus Luzardo and Jordan Romano, who are both seen as nice upgrades. However, in the lineup, the Phillies were rather quiet with just Max Kepler being the notable addition to the outfield. Considering the lineup was a bit of an issue in the postseason, just adding Kepler was a bit of a surprise.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about what the lineup would look like on Opening Day for the Phillies. He highlighted that while the top three are set in the order, the cleanup spot will be one worth watching this year.

“The first three spots in the batting order are likely a lock, but it will be interesting to see how things are lined up behind them. (Alec) Bohm (102 games), (Nick) Castellanos (30 games), and J.T. Realmuto (19 games) all saw time in the cleanup spot last year.”

With a great top three featuring Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, the cleanup spot is going to be key for the offense in 2025.

Last year, Bohm was the mainstay and it certainly paid dividends for him, especially in the first half of the season. Overall, Bohm totaled a .280 batting average, 15 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 44 doubles.

While the All-Star from 2024 had a great overall campaign, most of that damage was done in the first half of the year. In the second half of the season, Bohm was a shell of himself and that is certainly a concern for Philadelphia.

Depending on how Bohm bounces back from his bad second half of the year, it could be Castellanos who gets the first crack at batting cleanup. The 32-year-old was solid last year with 23 home runs and 86 runs driven in. The veteran outfielder also provides a bit more pop than Bohm, who is more of a doubles hitter.

Overall, the Phillies will have options in their lineup depending on how things go to start the season. Moving one of their top three in the order can also always be an option, however, that might be a last-case scenario.