Top Phillies prospect Alec Bohm signs on with super-agent Scott Boras
The slugging third baseman joins Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins in the club of Boras clients in the Phillies organization.
Eventually, maybe even during a 2020 season that Major League Baseball officials remain hopeful will be played, the heart of the Phillies’ batting order might consist of Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, and top prospect Alec Bohm.
In a sense, though, they are already part of the same lineup.
Bohm has signed on with Scott Boras, a source confirmed Tuesday, joining Harper and Hoskins on a growing list of Phillies players who are clients of baseball's most prominent agent. Right-handers Jake Arrieta and Vince Velasquez, outfielder Nick Williams, and 2019 first-round pick Bryson Stott are also with Boras.
A 23-year-old third baseman, Bohm was represented by the Wasserman Agency when the Phillies drafted him with the third overall pick in the 2018 draft.
Bohm was ticketed to open this season at triple-A Lehigh Valley, although general manager Matt Klentak said last winter that it’s “reasonable to expect he will impact our major-league club at some point” this season. That sentiment only grew stronger when Bohm went 9-for-22 in spring training before play was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Considered by many to be the best college hitter in the country when the Phillies drafted him out of Wichita State, Bohm batted .305 with 21 home runs and an .896 on-base plus slugging percentage between three levels of the minor leagues last season.
Some rival talent evaluators have doubted Bohm’s ability to stay at third base, but the Phillies haven’t considered moving him off the position. Moreover, they weren’t involved in free-agent bidding for third basemen Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson. Trade talks with the Chicago Cubs about third baseman Kris Bryant never heated up, either.
“The support that Matt, [farm director Josh] Bonifay, everybody in the organization has given me, they’re confident in my ability as much as I am to play third base,” Bohm said in January. “They’ve been a great help with that. I can see the improvements I’ve made, and I know I can improve even more.”
Boras has developed a strong relationship with Phillies managing partner John Middleton over the last few years. Arrieta signed a three-year, $75 million contract with the Phillies before the 2018 season; Harper reached a 13-year, $330 million agreement before last season. Hoskins also signed on with Boras last year.
NBC Sports Philadelphia was first to report Bohm’s agreement with Boras.