February 18, 2026
Bryce Harper put a light on the cleanup spot in the Phillies' order, how it wasn't anywhere near good enough last year, and how big of a job it's going to be for whoever has it in this one.
In that same line of questioning, where he stood and spoke to reporters for just shy of 15 minutes in Clearwater last weekend, Harper spoke about his playing for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, and how fun it was going to be having Yankees star power hitter Aaron Judge expected to hit behind him in the U.S. lineup for a few weeks.
But then it'll be back to the Phillies for Harper, and back to reality.
Aaron Judge is certainly not coming to solve the riddle of their troubled cleanup spot.
The options for the 4-hole, for now, are between veterans Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, and free-agent signing Adolis García – two longtime stand-ins who haven't helped solve the puzzle of getting the Phillies any closer to a World Series, and a gamble on an outfielder in his 30s who is looking to recapture the magic from his championship run with the Rangers in 2023.
Not exactly a group of nightmare-inducers for pitchers once they're past Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Harper as the Phillies' expected 1-3, and certainly neither of them is an Aaron Judge.
But there's gotta be a winner in there somewhere, manager Rob Thomson is hoping.
Otherwise, the Phillies' offense probably won't stray much of anywhere from the pit they've settled into since that NLCS defeat to Arizona in 2023.
Here's a look at Bohm's, Realmuto's, and García's career and recent numbers in the cleanup spot to compare:
| Bohm | Slash Line | HR/2B | RBI | SO/BB | PA |
| Career | .272/.322/.425 | 18 / 39 | 102 | 97 / 43 | 684 |
| 2023 | .253/.318/.392 | 3 / 2 | 12 | 12 / 8 | 88 |
| 2024 | .283/.330/.440 | 9 / 35 | 70 | 55 / 26 | 443 |
| 2025 | .216/.262/.309 | 3 / 0 | 12 | 17 / 5 | 107 |
| Realmuto | Slash Line | HR/2B | RBI | SO/BB | PA |
| Career | .265/.342/.452 | 41 / 43 | 137 | 244 / 85 | 1,063 |
| 2023 | .148/.273/.185 | 0 / 1 | 3 | 8 / 4 | 34 |
| 2024 | .233/.278/.356 | 3 / 0 | 8 | 23 / 5 | 79 |
| 2025 | .238/.302/.381 | 5 / 8 | 15 | 40 / 9 | 180 |
| García | Slash Line | HR/2B | RBI | SO/BB | PA |
| Career | .234/.295/.451 | 92 / 85 | 286 | 534 / 136 | 1,876 |
| 2023 | .250/.329/.511 | 36 / 27 | 102 | 159 / 58 | 587 |
| 2024 | .224/.283/.429 | 23 / 23 | 73 | 146 / 34 | 495 |
| 2025 | .224/.263/.399 | 13 / 14 | 39 | 88 / 13 | 320 |
The 29-year-old Bohm appears the frontrunner for the cleanup spot early into spring training.
He's in a contract year, and fan patience around him has worn thin following harsh postseason efforts at the plate in 2024 and 2025, and especially now, too, that top infield prospect Aidan Miller appears to be right on his heels.
At face value, he's a high-average hitter and a still recent All-Star who did drive in 97 runs in back-to-back seasons across 2023 and 2024.
He lacks home run power, though, which can devastate opponents in the 4-spot, and at this point in his career, probably isn't suddenly going to develop that extra pop.
He seems to know that, too.
“When you think of a [No.] 4 hitter, everybody wants home runs,” Bohm told MLB.com beat Todd Zolecki. “At this point, it’s not necessarily the whole part of my game. I’m not a prototypical four hitter. I put the ball in play. I’m contact over power. I will strike out less, hit more, walk less. But what I can do is be somebody behind those guys that they still don’t necessarily want to pitch to in a situation with guys on base because they know I can move the ball around the yard."
The thing is, can he do any of that when it truly counts?
Bohm tapped into something with the 2023 postseason, when he slashed .280/.357/.440 as the cleanup hitter during the seven-game NLCS against the Diamondbacks, which included that homer early into Game 7 that left the Phillies with a chance to still pull through.
Ever since, though, high-pressure situations when runners are on, and when the Phillies need runs, have too often been met with Bohm rushing into weak contact and slamming his helmet much harder into the dirt as he's thrown out at first.
In the 2024 NLDS loss to the Mets, Bohm hit lower in the order, got benched for a game even, and cratered with a .077/.143/.077 slash line with no extra-base hits and just a walk.
In the 4-hole for the 2025 NLDS defeat to the Dodgers last October, Bohm did bat .333 through it, but again with no power in the way of extra bases, and even though this wasn't on him, no one was often on in front of him to threaten to score. (side note: that one falls to Harper in the three-spot, who hit just .200 with a .333 on-base percentage for the series, for as much as he stressed last weekend how important who is hitting behind him is.)
If the Phillies turn to García to clean up, he definitely brings more home run power, but at a lower rate of contact and a much higher rate of striking out.
Realmuto would be a lower-key hitter, but with a bat that's been on decline as he turns 35, and with an approach at the plate that isn't exactly the fear-imposing type that a cleanup hitter should ideally be.
There certainly isn't an Aaron Judge here.
A bat like Bo Bichette's probably would've helped, though.
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