Overview
- On Saturday the Phillies gave Alec Bohm a preplanned day off to insert Kyle Schwarber at first base and to put Bryce Harper at designated hitter as part of a lineup move the team said was not punitive.
- Manager Don Mattingly said the club is deliberately limiting Harper’s outfield workload as he rebuilds outfield reads and arm strength after not playing the position regularly since 2022.
- Harper made a defensive mistake in an 11th-inning play that Mattingly attributed to lack of repetitions, and the team has used late-game defensive replacements and DH days to manage his minutes.
- The front office publicly stood by Bohm after the trade deadline, with president Dave Dombrowski citing his run production even though Bohm is slumping at .225 with a .642 OPS and facing fan frustration.
- The Phillies say they will keep monitoring medical data and performance before making bigger changes, though options such as moving Harper back to first base or using Bryan De La Cruz or Derek Hill in right have not been adopted.