Ranking Phillies' Choices To Bat Cleanup Behind Harper or Schwarber

When it comes to the Phillies' lineup, all anyone wanted to talk about during the offseason was the cleanup spot.

Had they signed Bo Bichette before the Mets swooped in with an offer far better than any team was willing to make, they'd have an ideal right-handed protector in the four-spot with high contact skills and power.

They obviously did not land the plane with Bichette and so the cleanup spot once again looks like it will be Alec Bohm's to lose.

Alec Bohm

Bohm has 200 more big-league plate appearances in the cleanup spot than any other in his career and has hit .272/.322/.425, numbers nearly identical to his overall projections for 2026 by Steamer and Marcel, systems used by Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.

The Phillies are hoping the production is more similar to 2024, when Bohm slugged 40 points higher than he did last season. His doubles count decreased from 44 in 2024 to 18 in 2025.

The biggest thing Bohm has working in his favor from the cleanup spot is that he's been money with runners in scoring position throughout his six-year career. He's batted .307 with RISP, hitting .285, .301, .344 and .281 the last four seasons.

Whoever bats cleanup will have plenty of run-producing opportunities with Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber hitting in front of him.

"I think the four-spot has a huge impact," Harper told reporters, including MLB.com, on Sunday. "I think the numbers in the four-spot weren't very good last year for our whole team. I think whoever's in that four spot is gonna have a big job to do, depending on who's hitting three or who's hitting two."

Phillies cleanup hitters were not all that productive last season, hitting .242/.312/.408 with 24 home runs and 55 walks. Each of those numbers ranked between 18th and 22nd in MLB.

The Phils' four-hitter needs to not only drive in runs with consistency but also be enough of a threat that Schwarber or Harper don't get pitched around with as much frequency as they have in the past.

Harper saw by far the fewest pitches in the strike zone of any major-leaguer last season, just 42.9%. The next-closest hitter was Oneil Cruz at 45.9%.

Adolis Garcia

Bohm and Garcia are very different right-handed hitters. Bohm makes a ton of contact, with the downside being high double-play totals each year. Garcia is a free swinger who whiffs a lot, which wouldn't be the most ideal skill set in situations with one out and runners on first and third, for example.

Lifetime, Garcia has hit .265 with a .792 with runners in scoring position. The last two seasons, those numbers have dropped to .241 and .687.

Garcia has big power, though, more than Bohm. He'd be a better candidate for a first-inning three-run homer that could change the complexion of a game. Garcia hit a career-high 39 home runs in 2023 and has clubbed 25 or more in four of the last five years.

He's probably not going to run many deep counts or wait pitchers out, but that's not quite as necessary a skill behind the perpetually selective Harper and Schwarber.

J.T. Realmuto

The other cleanup candidate, albeit distant, is catcher J.T. Realmuto. The Phillies want a right-handed bat in that spot.

Realmuto is coming off of his worst offensive season since 2015, his first full year in the majors. He hit just .257 with a .700 OPS.

Realmuto has 293 plate appearances out of the four-spot the last three seasons and has hit just .227/.292/.354.

Perhaps there will be points in the season when either Realmuto is hot or both Bohm and Garcia are cold, but it's hard to make a case for him over the two. Bohm is a better overall hitter than Realmuto at this point and Garcia has by far the most power of the three.

Manager Rob Thomson will likely use each in the cleanup spot at some point in spring training, especially toward the end, to see how it looks.

The Phillies open up the regular season at home against the Texas Rangers on March 26 and could end up facing stingy right-handers Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi the first two games. Bohm and Realmuto are a combined 8-for-47 (.170) vs. deGrom and Garcia has never faced him. Realmuto is 4-for-9 off Eovaldi while the other two are 0-for-7.