Potential Pirates Trade Targets: Alec Bohm Could Fix Two Problems at Once
The Pittsburgh Pirates enter the offseason with a number of needs, but upgrading the lineup and left side of the infield help are among the two biggest.
The Pirates finished last in baseball in 2025 in runs scored, home runs and OPS. Of the 27 players to record a plate appearance this past season, only one — Spencer Horwitz (118 OPS+) — was considered above league-average offensively.
At the trade deadline, the Pirates dealt third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds, creating a void on the left side of the infield. With Jared Triolo’s strong finish to the season, he could theoretically man either third base or shortstop for the Pirates until uber-prospect Konnor Griffin is called up for his debut.
But with Griffin knocking at the door to the big leagues, it might make more sense to use Triolo as a stopgap option at shortstop and use the opening at third base to add some offense.
There are some third base options on the free agent market, which I dove into last week. But if the Pirates opt for a trade instead of free agency, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Alec Bohm presents an interesting option.
Bohm has spent six seasons in the big leagues with the Phillies after he was selected with the third pick of the 2018 draft.
Across those six seasons across the Keystone State, Bohm has slashed .279/.328/.415 with 143 doubles, eight triples, 70 home runs and 395 RBI in 719 games.
Rib and shoulder injuries limited Bohm to 120 games in 2025, but the 29-year-old posted a healthy .287 batting average with a .741 OPS. He hit 18 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and drove in 59 runs.
Though it was a solid yet unspectacular season for Bohm, he’s just one year removed from his first All-Star appearance in 2024. Last season with the Phillies, Bohm hit .280, slugged .448 and registered a .779 OPS with a career-high 44 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, and a career-high-tying 97 RBI.
While Bohm hasn’t exactly emerged as the true middle of the order threat the Phillies had hoped for, he’s provided consistency with a 106 OPS+ over the last four seasons, and the Pirates are in need of someone like that in their lineup.
When it comes to right-handed bats, the Pirates will be looking for players who are capable of hitting the ball to all fields, and Bohm has done that.
Bohm’s defense was a hot topic a couple years ago and not for good reasons. Combined between 2021-22, Bohm made 28 errors — including a league-leading 15 in 2021 — and accounted for minus-29 defensive runs saved.
But he’s shown improvement over the last few years. Bohm was in the 89th-percentile in outs above average with nine in 2024, a year he had zero defensive runs saved and was not in the negative for the first time in his career. This past season, Bohm was minus-two in OAA and minus-three DRS, but committed only five errors with a career-best .981 fielding percentage.
The improvement over the years is enough to warrant adding his bat to the lineup, if only for a year. Bohm is in the final year of arbitration and is projected to earn $10.3 million in 2026 before reaching the open market. It’s a steep price by Pirates’ standards, but one they should feel comfortable paying.
Fortunately for the Pirates, Bohm looks like an obvious trade candidate, and the Phillies could be willing to eat some of his salary to facilitate a trade. Either way, a $10 million salary is not overly egregious.
Should Bohm be the biggest addition to help the offense? No. But the Pirates will need to add multiple bats this winter if they want to propel themselves in the right direction. The addition of Bohm would offer at least one improvement.
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