Here are the options to solve the Phillies’ cleanup hitter problem

The Phillies have a cleanup problem, and pretending otherwise is how you end up back in October wondering what went wrong for the third straight year.

Bryce Harper basically said it out loud in Clearwater. The four-hole wasn’t good enough last season, and whoever grabs it this year has a massive job.

He talked about how much fun it’ll be hitting in front of Aaron Judge for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, how pitchers have to think twice when a generational slugger is lurking behind you. Then he’ll come back to Philly, look over his shoulder, and see… Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, or Adolis García.

That’s not exactly Judge.

Bryce Harper on Aaron Judge:

“Having Aaron Judge hit behind me is gonna be a lot of fun.” -Bryce Harper on playing for Team USA pic.twitter.com/AcpzbFcK7x

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 16, 2026

WATCH: Bryce Harper reminds Alec Bohm that he has a big job to do batting cleanup for the Phillies this season

The Phillies know they need to keep pitchers honest after Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Harper. You can’t let teams breathe once they navigate the top three. You need someone in the four-hole who changes the math, who makes managers sweat about putting Harper on base.

Right now, the options feel more like placeholders than solutions.

Start with Bohm, who looks like the early frontrunner. On paper, the case is easy enough to make. He’s a recent All-Star. He drove in 97 runs in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. His career cleanup slash line sits at .272/.322/.425. In 2024 alone, he hit .283/.330/.440 in the four-spot with 70 RBIs and 35 doubles. That’s real production.

The issue is the type of production.

Bohm himself admitted he’s not a prototypical cleanup hitter. He’s contact over power. He’ll put the ball in play. He won’t strike out much. He’s not selling out for 35 home runs. That sounds fine until you remember what the four-hole is supposed to do in October.

The postseason has exposed the gap. After a strong 2023 NLCS where he hit .280/.357/.440, the high-leverage moments since have often ended with rushed swings, weak contact, and helmet slams. In the 2024 NLDS against the Mets, he cratered. In 2025 against the Dodgers, he hit .333 but without a single extra-base hit. Cleanup hitters are supposed to flip games in one swing. Bohm flips singles into loud outs.

Then there’s Realmuto. Career-wise in the four-spot, he’s hit .265/.342/.452 with 41 homers and 137 RBIs. That’s respectable. But the recent trend tells a different story. Since 2023, his numbers in that role have dipped into the .230s with declining power and rising strikeouts. He’s 35 now. The bat speed isn’t what it was and now the idea of Realmuto as a fear factor feels more nostalgic than realistic.

Adolis García at least looks the part. In 2023 with Texas, he slashed .250/.329/.511 with 36 homers and 102 RBIs. That version of García absolutely fits behind Harper. The problem is the version since. In 2024 and 2025, his average sat around .224 with declining on-base numbers and plenty of swing-and-miss. He’ll bring power, but he also brings strikeouts in bunches. His career cleanup strikeout-to-walk ratio is 534 to 136. That’s a lot of empty at-bats in big spots if the timing isn’t right.

So here we are. Bohm offers contact but limited pop. Realmuto offers professionalism but declining impact. García offers power but volatility. None of them are obvious answers. None of them are nightmare fuel for pitchers once they get past Turner, Schwarber, and Harper.

That’s the real problem. Since the 2023 NLCS loss to Arizona, the Phillies’ lineup hasn’t fundamentally changed and the names and structure are mostly the same.

The offensive droughts in October are mostly the same. Harper can talk about how important the four-spot is all he wants, but unless someone forces the issue and becomes that guy, the offense will stay stuck in neutral when it matters.

There has to be a winner in that group. Rob Thomson is banking on it. Because if there isn’t, the Phillies aren’t solving their cleanup problem. They’re just rearranging it.

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