The time has come. The Phillies recently promoted their top pitching prospect in Spencer Howard, who made his debut on Sunday. Now, the Phillies appear to be adding their top offensive prospect as well.
Meghan Montemurro reports that third baseman Alec Bohm is headed to Philadelphia.
The Phillies have called up prospect Alec Bohm, sources tell @TheAthleticPHI. Team hasn’t confirmed.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) August 13, 2020
The Phillies will have to make two roster moves.
Since Bohm is not a member of the 40-man roster, the Phillies will have to designate a player's contract for assignment. The 40-man roster does not have many expendable position players on it at the moment. Outfielder Kyle Garlick and catcher Deivy Grullion are the lone position players not active.
If the Phillies were to lose Garlick, they have non-roster outfielders Nick Martini and Mikie Mahtook available in the Allentown alternate site should they need to add an outfielder.
As for a spot on the active roster, one must wonder if Scott Kingery is due for an injured list stint or a demotion. He has struggled so far in 2020. Kingery did not play in Wednesday night's 5-4 Phillies loss. After going 0 for 5 on Tuesday, Kingery is batting just .100.
Kingery missed time in Summer Camp with a COVID-19 battle. It is unclear if the virus or the time off has affected Kingery's ability to compete so far.
The Phillies could start Bohm at third base and move Jean Segura to second base if there is a Kingery move.
Should everyone stay, Bohm can play third base and first base, as well as take some at bats at designated hitter.
Bohm batted a combined .305 with 21 home runs in 125 games over Lakewood, Clearwater, and Reading last season. Bohm was the first round pick of the Phillies in 2018. Had the season begun normally, Bohm was ticketed for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Instead, he makes the jump to the major leagues.
