The Philadelphia Phillies are more than likely out of the running in terms of making any type of big splash move, whether it’s via free agency or trade. Dave Dombrowski believes they have a good club and that if anything, they would be looking to add around the margins as Spring Training draws near.
With the Phillies missing out on Bo Bichette and also seeing the likes of Luis Robert and Freddy Peralta join their division rivals in the Mets, perhaps the team would make a move to add Eugenio Suárez to insert in the middle of their lineup.
Suárez has been one of the better power hitters over the last eight seasons. He has hit 30 or more home runs in six of the last eight seasons, including 49 last year, splitting the season between Arizona and Seattle, and was named an All-Star. He finished with an OPS+ of 126 and tied for the fourth-highest WAR amongst third basemen at 3.8. Alec Bohm finished 13th in WAR at 1.7.
According to Statcast, if Suárez spent the entire 2025 season with the Phillies, he would have clobbered 54 home runs, which would have been good for second, only behind Kyle Schwarber’s 56. Philadelphia had just one other player hit 20 or more homers last year, with Bryce Harper finishing with 27.
He also has turned into a consistent run producer, driving in a career-best 118 runs in 2025, marking the second consecutive season he has reached triple digits in that category after he had 101 RBIs in 2024 with the Diamondbacks.
Schwarber was the only hitter in the lineup last year to reach 100 RBIs, finishing with 132. The next closest was Harper with 75 and Nick Castellanos, who does not factor into this year’s roster, who had 72.
The Phillies struggled to solidify the cleanup spot in their lineup last season as six different hitters were penciled into the cleanup spot. Castellanos led the way with 64 games. J.T. Realmuto saw 30 games in the four spot while Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler had 23 and 22, respectively. Bohm, the projected cleanup hitter and mainstay in 2023, hit in that spot 16 times.
Suárez primarily hit fifth last year between the Diamondbacks and Mariners but did see his name in the cleanup spot 46 times. He could easily be slotted in the middle of the lineup to help provide some thump in the lineup.
Having a trio that includes Schwarber, Harper and Suárez in the middle of their lineup would give the Phillies one of the most powerful lineups in baseball and would forgo the contact ability Bohm has to sell out for more run production with Suárez.
For this hypothetical move to even work, the Phillies would need to offload Bohm. It seems the team has been trying to find a suitor for the third baseman each of the last two seasons. He is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility and is set to make $10.2 million this year. The Phillies would need another team to tango with to get a deal done.
For how eye-popping the power numbers are for Suárez, the strikeout numbers are just as glaring. He whiffed 196 times last season and has led the majors in strikeouts in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023 with 410 combined strikeouts in 312 games. He also does not draw a lot of walks, hurting his on-base percentage. In 12 big league seasons, he owns a career. 328 OBP.
Aside from the homers and RBIs, Suarez’s slash line is not all that impressive. In 159 games, he slashed .228/.298/.526 to go with an .824 OPS. Bohm, meanwhile, bested Suárez in average and on-base percentage but trailed in slugging and OPS with a .287/.331/.409 slash line with a .741 OPS. Bohm also has not struck out more than 100 times in each of his last three seasons.
Suárez is also a worse defender than Bohm over at the hot corner.
Bohm finished with the second-best fielding percentage at .981, only behind Ke’Bryan Hayes as the two tied for the fewest errors with five. Suárez finished with a .955 fielding percentage and had 16 errors.
The two both posted a negative DRS (defensive runs saved) with Bohm at -3 and Suárez at -6.
From a money standpoint, the Phillies would need to more than likely pay Suárez around $15-20 million, which is a bit more than what Bohm is due. However, there was interest from the Phillies last summer as the trade deadline was approaching, so the front office at least poked around regarding the slugging third baseman.
In the end, any chance the Phillies bring in a new third baseman would all hinge on their ability to find a trade partner who is interested in Bohm.
