Alec Bohm was out of the Phillies lineup on Monday night, and Don Mattingly said the move was simply a day to let him recover after a road trip that left him healthy but banged up. Bohm sat as the Phillies opened against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park, with Mattingly saying he wanted the infielder back out there tomorrow.
That mattered because the Phillies were making a small but real adjustment on a night when Ryan Gusto was scheduled to face Zack Wheeler, and the roster was already being managed carefully. Outfielder Steward Berroa was reinstated from the paternity list and optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, while the club continued to carry three catchers in J.T. Realmuto, Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs.
Mattingly said Bohm had been gathering little knocks on the road trip, “a little bit in the hammy, a little bit in the hip, little bit in the shoulder,” and that the club did not want the wear to turn into something more. Bohm’s absence was framed as short-term, not a setback, and the expectation from the dugout was that he would be available again the next day.
The harder lineup question sat one spot away. Trea Turner remained in the No. 2 spot even after going 1-for-13 on the latest road trip, leaving him at.219 with a.599 OPS. That came only a year after he won the National League batting title, but Mattingly did not budge. “He’s Trea,” he said, adding that he was not giving up on Turner and not moving him right now.
That refusal matters because the Phillies have already shown they are willing to make smaller lineup changes when needed, as they did by giving Bohm a day to reset. But Mattingly drew a line between a player with minor physical issues and one with a poor stretch at the plate, saying Turner is a big part of what the Phillies are and would be needed if the club is going to be successful. For now, the adjustment stops with Bohm’s rest day, and Turner stays where he is.
The real question is not whether Bohm can sit through one night; it is whether the Phillies can keep threading that balance between protecting players and protecting the order. Mattingly sounded confident Bohm would be back, and he sounded just as firm that Turner was staying put.
