It’s no secret that the Phillies offense hasn’t gotten off to the greatest of starts. Up and down the lineup you can see hitters struggling to get going to various degrees. Many, if not all, of them will figure something out eventually, but it’s the waiting for that to happen and the creeping doubt that it ever will that makes it almost unbearable. Couple that with the looming specter of the past few postseason exits, and you would be well within reason to be annoyed with how the offense has looked
out of the gate.
It’s still way too early to make any sweeping generalizations or major changes, but maybe it’s not too early for a little tinkering. Lineup shuffles are not always the key, but sometimes they can be a way to jumpstart some hitters. Looking at the Phillies current lineup, one change they could consider is flipping Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh.
Stott’s strong spring has yet to carry over into the regular season, and he’s currently working through adjustments in his approach, namely trying to swing more often earlier in the count. But those adjustments have yet to bear fruit, as Stott was hitting .188 with a paltry .454 OPS at the start of play yesterday. Marsh meanwhile has arguably been the team’s best hitter through the first two weeks of the season, as he entered play yesterday slashing .297/.325/.459. Marsh’s strong hitting goes back to when he returned from injury after a brutal start last season, as he’s hitting .302 with an .831 OPS since May 1st of 2025.
Another option is flipping Alec Bohm with Adolis Garcia. Bohm has struggled mightily since his opening day homer, entering play yesterday hitting .190 with a .563 OPS. Garcia meanwhile came into Wednesday hitting .244 with a .728 OPS. He has drastically cut down on his contact with pitches outside of the zone while still keeping his ability to impact pitches inside the zone, at least in the early going. The Phillies need one of these righties to perform in the cleanup spot behind Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. So far Bohm has not done that.
Again, maybe it’s too early to make a change and maybe it’s unfair to single out one player to drop in a lineup of underperformers. But it is on option on the table to try and get the sluggish Phillies offense going. So, should the Phillies consider a lineup shuffle? Should they flip Stott and Marsh? Flip Bohm and Garcia? Or is there something else you would like to see considered?
