Young Star Beats Phillies in Salary Arbitration

Infielder Alec Bohm won his salary arbitration hearing with the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, meaning that he will receive the $4 million he asked for when he and the team exchanged figures in January.

Bohm and the Phillies were not able to reach a deal before the hearing which took place in Arizona.

He was the only Phillies player that went to the arbitration table after the Phillies settled with the rest of the arbitration eligible players before the deadline — pitcher Ranger Suárez, pitcher Jeff Hoffman, infielder Edmundo Sosa and pitcher Gregory Soto. The Phillies had also reached deals with outfielder Jake Cave, pitcher Dylan Covey and catcher Garrett Stubbs before January.

The Phillies offered Bohm $3.4 million. This was his first year of arbitration eligibility, so he and the Phillies will do at least two more rounds of this before he hits free agency, unless they strike a multi-year deal at some point.

Bohm was one of 23 players that didn’t reach one-year salary agreements before the arbitration deadline, though not all of those players went to arbitration.

Bohm had a quality year at the plate while shuttling between both corner infield positions in 2023 due to injuries. He slashed .274/.327/.437/.765 and slugged a career-high 20 home runs. He also drove in a career-high 97 RBI.

He’s proven to be a consistent run producer since he made his debut in 2020 with the Phillies during the shortened COVID season. In 44 games he batted .338 with four home runs and 23 RBI as he finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting.

For his career he is batting .276 with 44 home runs and 239 RBI.

With Bryce Harper set to take over full-time at first base, Bohm should be able to return to third base full-time in 2024.