The Philadelphia Phillies have many issues with their lineup, and Dave Dombrowski pointed out one of them.
A lot has gone wrong for the Philadelphia Phillies to start the 2026 season. The pitching hasn't been up to par, the defense has made some costly mistakes, and the offense has trouble buying a hit, let alone a run.
Looking at just the bats for a moment, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski recently touched on where he thinks the lineup is lacking, and that has to do with not having a clear cleanup hitter to hit behind the star trio of Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Kyle Schwarber.
“You really don’t have a No. 4 hitter at this time,” Dombrowski said (via Destiny Lugaro of Phillies Nation).
The Phillies exec isn't wrong.
Philadelphia's cleanup hitters have a combined slash line of .195/.278/.299, and their .577 OPS is in the middle of the pack compared to the rest of the lineup.
Whoever is hitting behind Schwarber just can't seem to get anything going or provide the top three hitters in the lineup any protection.
So far, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, and Adolis Garcia have been written in as Philly's clean-up hitter, with Garcia receiving more opportunities as of late.
Apr 15, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Adolis Garcia (42) runs to first after hitting a double against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesPhillies Exec Identifies One Key Issue With Lineup Right NowAt this point, though, Dombrowski alluded to the Phillies being desperate to try anything to pick up the production in this part of the line. That includes giving power-hitting prospect Felix Reyes a chance to
Dombrowski continued, “Maybe some other guys will. Maybe Bohmer will step back up. Maybe García will do it, but there’s no harm trying Reyes because he’s going to get in there and he’s going to give you a good at-bat and do everything that he can to drive the ball somewhere.”
How did this become an issue all of a sudden?
What did the Phillies do at cleanup last year?
Well, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos spent the most time at that position in the lineup, but Realmuto has a .696 OPS this season, and Philadelphia chose to cut ties with Castellanos before the season began.
Schwarber also hit cleanup for the Phillies a year ago, with Bryson Stott getting some opportunities to hit leadoff. However, with Stott's struggles at the plate right now, that doesn't seem like a viable option.
There are still other major issues at hand, but it'll still be interesting to see how the Phillies manage the cleanup position moving forward.
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