MINNEAPOLIS -- It's been an eventful couple of weeks for Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm.
So much of the attention following the Luis Arraez trade was, understandably, placed on Bryce Harper's move to the outfield and Arraez himself. But as Arraez pointed out when he arrived in Philadelphia, it shouldn't be overlooked what Stott and Bohm each had to do to make this whole thing feasible.
Plenty of their teammates -- Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Jesús Luzardo and Harper, just to name a few -- have also publicly lauded Stott and Bohm for their midseason position switches. As has shortstop Trea Turner -- the only infielder still at his pre-Trade Deadline position -- who departed Saturday night’s 9-1 victory over the Twins after fouling a ball off his right knee in the eighth inning.
But all the moving parts mean nothing if the players don't perform.
Well, Stott has put together one of his best stretches of the season while continuing to play stellar defense at third base and Bohm -- despite a few hiccups at first base -- has quietly been one of the team's best hitters for the past month.
Those two were at the center of everything on Saturday night at Target Field. Bohm went 5-for-5 with three doubles and provided perhaps the most pivotal hit of the night just moments before Stott blew the game open with a three-run homer. The five hits were a career high for Bohm.
“Felt good, yeah,” Bohm said with a smile. “It's nice when they all land.”
The pair was the catalyst for a seven-run fifth inning in which every run scored with two outs, turning a 1-0 lead into a rout.
After Twins starter Connor Prielipp walked three straight batters -- including Arraez with the bases loaded -- Bohm ripped an RBI single up the middle to open the floodgates. It was the type of clutch knock that the Phillies couldn't get in the second inning, when they loaded the bases with nobody out but came away with only a sacrifice fly to show for it.
Two batters later, Stott clubbed a towering fly ball off the right-field foul pole to push the Phillies' lead to 8-0.
Stott has reached base safely in every game since moving to third base. He's hitting .395 (15-for-38) with a .531 on-base percentage in those 11 games. Bohm, meanwhile, is hitting .320 (32-for-100) with an .817 OPS since the All-Star break -- including .367 (18-for-49) with an .888 OPS in 14 games this month.
Since the All-Star break, Stott leads the Phillies in average (.326), on-base percentage (.450) and OPS (.978).
“I mean, I think it's who he is,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Honestly, he's got a great swing. I think the biggest change he's made over the course of the season is really just staying a little lower [launch angle], hitting the ball in the gaps.”
And who has the second-highest average on the team since the All-Star break? Bohm.
Mattingly said on Thursday, "To have a good season, a lot of guys have to have good years -- but the aircraft carriers still got to carry you."
And that's true.
To get to October -- and to win in October -- the Phillies will need Schwarber to be Schwarber and Harper to be Harper. And while they obviously don't need Stott and Bohm to hit .350 for sustained stretches, they will need their contributions down the stretch.
“Obviously, the big guys got to go and carry that load, but the other guys really gotta be contributors, because those guys can't do it every night,” Mattingly said. “So you're gonna have to get contributions kind of up and down your order from different guys.”
Lately, those guys have been Bohm and Stott -- and they’ve done it amidst a defensive overhaul. Stott hadn’t played third base since April 2022, and even then it was only two games.
“He’s been great. He's one of the better infielders I've ever played with, so I didn't expect it to be an issue for him going over there. … It's been impressive how easy he’s made the transition seem.”
As for his own move across the diamond, Bohm is starting to settle in after a couple of misplays initially. And while he had played first base sporadically in the past, it’s never been his natural spot.
“I think I'm starting to get a lot more comfortable around the bag and just moving around and kind of knowing where I'm supposed to be, backing up these bases, doing all these different things,” Bohm said. “I’ve definitely made a few mistakes over there, but I feel like I'm learning every day.”
Those mistakes would become far less magnified with a few more nights like Saturday.