Alec Bohm's start to the 2026 season has been rough, but Philadelphia Phillies manager Don Mattingly still has faith.
Alec Bohm started the season as the Philadelphia Phillies cleanup hitter, but has since been moved down in the order, struggling in that role. Unfortunately for Bohm, this change of scenery hasn’t helped him become a more productive hitter at the plate.
Nearly a quarter of the way through the 2026 season, Bohm owns a .159/.227/.206 slash line and an OPS+ of 21.
Despite what has been an objectively difficult start to the season for the 29-year-old, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly defended his player and knows that a turnaround will come eventually.
Bohm was out of Thursday’s lineup, but Mattingly stressed he wanted it to be more of a reset for the hitter than anything else.
“I encouraged him not to hit today… because he’s been working so hard, hitting extra all the time,” said Philly’s skipper pregame.
“You can never tell a guy you have to not hit because you still would use him today. … It encourages him to take a reset day from the standpoint of grinding, grinding, grinding, take a step back and get back after it.”
Apr 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm (28) hits a sacrifice fly against the San Francisco Giants in the tenth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesThe hope is that, with a day off and a mental reset, all the extra work and time Bohm has been putting in will start to pay off, and Mattingly is confident in that.
“He’s gonna hit, and I’ll believe that till the day I'm not on this earth,” Mattingly continued. “And we're gonna need him to be himself. He's gonna get a lot of big hits for us. You guys are gonna forget what happened in May when he's hitting down the stretch and driving in runs.”
There’s no denying that Bohm’s start to the season has been disappointing and, in many ways, frustrating; he’s the first one who realizes that.
However, history does show that his current numbers aren’t sustainable from the standpoint of the type of hitter Bohm has been in the past season. Bohm may never reach that consistent All-Star potential that fans had hope for, but the righty has logged a wRC+ over 100 in four of his six big-league seasons (not including 2026).
Hopefully, the day off Mattingly is giving Bohm is exactly what he needs to start to turn the season around after an underwhelming start.
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