Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
One of the first decisions the Phillies<\/a> made this offseason was bringing in a new voice to coach their infield. <\/p>\n The organization moved on from Bobby Dickerson<\/a>, who had served as infield coach since the 2022 season, and brought in Carlos Mendoza<\/a>. The former Mets manager also will serve as third-base coach on Don Mattingly<\/a>\u2019s staff in 2027. <\/p>\n Mendoza will lead a group that already is facing many questions. The Phillies tried to get creative with their infield alignment after the trade deadline by bringing in Luis Arraez at second, moving Bryce Harper<\/a> back to right field, Alec Bohm<\/a> to first base, and Bryson Stott<\/a> to third.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Phillies 2027 outfield outlook: Free-agent options, prospect forecast, and more<\/a><\/p>\n It was a risk that seemed to pay off \u2014 at least until Arraez suffered an ankle sprain that left him off the Phillies\u2019 wild-card roster. And now, with Arraez, Bohm, and Edmundo Sosa impending free agents, the Phillies could take several directions with their infield. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a breakdown of the position group\u2019s 2027 outlook:<\/p>\n Turner sticks at short \u2014 for now<\/p>\n The most pressing question is whether Trea Turner<\/a> can continue to be the Phillies\u2019 shortstop after his defensive regression in 2026. Much of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski<\/a>\u2019s hourlong season-ending news conference was focused on Turner and his position for the seven years remaining on his contract. <\/p>\n Turner was the only member of the infield not to change positions after the trade deadline, and he was never approached by the Phillies to do so. Despite Turner\u2019s attempts to recapture the strides he made defensively in 2025 \u2014 through extra work with Dickerson and even trying out Stott\u2019s extra glove<\/a> for a while \u2014 his play remained inconsistent. <\/p>\n He committed 21 errors, up from just eight in 2025, and ranked last among major league shortstops in several metrics. He posted a minus-17 defensive runs saved and a minus-8 outs above average, both the worst of any season in his career. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Phillies will keep Trea Turner at shortstop for now: \u2018He knows he has to be better\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Still, he will enter 2026 as the Phillies\u2019 shortstop, although Dombrowski has already expressed to him that remaining there is contingent on defensive improvement. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were very clear: He knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him it\u2019s really mandatory that he\u2019s like that,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cIf he plays shortstop like he did in \u201925, he can play shortstop. But if he plays like he did in \u201926, he can\u2019t. He totally understands that.\u201d<\/p>\n If no improvements are made, Dombrowski said the Phillies have \u201cfallback\u201d options in place, which could involve internal promotions from the pipeline. Turner likely would have to move to the outfield in that case.<\/p>\n But defense isn\u2019t the only area of his game he needs to improve. Turner didn\u2019t fare much better offensively in 2026. A year after winning the batting title, he hit .242 with a .675 OPS. The teamwide struggle against left-handed pitching started with Turner, who hit .219 with a .607 OPS against lefties. As the team\u2019s top right-handed bat, Turner should be expected to carry the load against left-handed pitching. <\/p>\n Turner had no immediate answers for his struggles following the Phillies\u2019 postseason exit, but he expressed his commitment to finding them. <\/p>\n \u201cGot a lot of work to do,\u201d he said. \u201cKind of just go over everything and just figure out as much I can, find answers, see what I did bad. I think this year was the biggest question mark for me offensively in a long time, and I got to figure that out. So definitely going to have a lot of work to do there, and I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Harper\u2019s season<\/p>\n While it did not ultimately help them reach their goal of a World Series<\/a> \u2014 or even winning just one playoff series \u2014 Harper\u2019s offer to leave the infield and return to right field was key to the Phillies\u2019 post-trade deadline strategy. <\/p>\n Harper reached out to Dombrowski to reiterate his willingness to temporarily return to the outfield, which allowed them to get creative and bring in the contact-hitting Arraez to play second base. <\/p>\n It ultimately proved futile. Arraez sprained his ankle in September and was not healthy enough to be named to the wild-card roster. And for half an inning in Game 2, it appeared Harper\u2019s position switch would actually be the reason for another early postseason exit. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Reliever Tim Mayza on why he re-signed, how \u2018The Sheriff\u2019 nickname suits him, and more | \u2018Phillies Extra\u2019 Q&A<\/a><\/p>\n But immediately after Atlanta took the lead on a fly ball Harper misread in right, Kyle Schwarber<\/a> and Harper hit back-to-back homers to tie the game, turning the miscue into a footnote in the Phillies\u2019 4-3 comeback win<\/a>. <\/p>\n Offensively, Harper had a strong season overall. His .269 batting average, .865 OPS, and 29 homers were slight improvements from 2025, though not superb by his career standards. But after Harper set a goal in spring training to walk more, he led the National League with 107. He also played in all 162 games for the first time in his career. <\/p>\n In general, a year after questioning whether Harper was still an \u201celite\u201d player, Dombrowski seemed satisfied with his season. <\/p>\n \u201cWith [Schwarber] and Harp, I think that those two were the two guys that really had very good offensive years for us,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cVery good years overall. We need to get better offensively. That can come through some additions. That could come through some better decisions from an offensive perspective on things we do that will be up to our hitting coach.\u201d<\/p>\n Next season, Harper will return to first base on a full-time basis. But he also will likely see more time at designated hitter. Dombrowski said the Phillies expect Schwarber to play approximately 30 games at first base. <\/p>\n Schwarber, who blasted 45 homers this year, only played eight games at first in 2026, along with two appearances in left field. But spreading around the defensive workload is intended to keep Schwarber and Harper fresh as they both enter their age-34 seasons.<\/p>\n Stott\u2019s defense <\/p>\n While Harper\u2019s willingness to switch positions enabled the Phillies\u2019 post-deadline infield shuffle, it was Stott\u2019s proficiency at third that helped it succeed \u2014 at least, until Arraez\u2019s injury. <\/p>\n Although Stott hadn\u2019t played third base since he was a rookie in 2022, he continued to be a dependable fielder at his new position. Stott posted a plus-8 outs above average and plus-4 fielding run value at second, and a plus-1 outs above average and plus-2 fielding run value at third. His adaptability gives the Phillies flexibility with how they fill their infield in 2027, as they would have room for an addition at second base or third base. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Hayes: Can Bryson Stott save his future with the Phillies after his 3 playoff collapses and 3 seasons of mediocrity?<\/a><\/p>\n As he enters his final season before free agency, Stott, 29, is the Phillies\u2019 best defensive infielder. And even though he isn\u2019t the fastest player on the team by sprint speed, his elite reads helped him lead the Phillies with 27 stolen bases and a 100% success rate.<\/p>\n But Stott had a fairly average season offensively with a .256 batting average and a .736 OPS to go with 15 homers. The Phillies want him to find more consistency in that part of his game. <\/p>\n \u201cWe like Stott,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cI think he can be better than what he does. He had a really good June, July, August. I don\u2019t know why he can\u2019t be that player all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Bohm\u2019s future<\/p>\n Bohm\u2019s time as a Phillie could potentially be coming to an end this winter as he reaches free agency. After a brutal start to the season, with a .426 OPS in March and April, he managed to turn things around and finish with 88 RBIs. <\/p>\n Bohm also delivered the go-ahead homer in the 10th inning of Game 2 of the wild-card series, which extended the Phillies\u2019 season one more day. <\/p>\n The former third overall pick hopes to stay in the only organization he\u2019s ever known, but moving on from Bohm, 30, would give the Phillies a chance to explore something different in the infield. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: The most imaginative changes the Phillies can make begin with moving Trea Turner off shortstop<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea what to expect. But I would love to be back if they would have me back,\u201d Bohm said after the Phillies\u2019 postseason exit. <\/p>\n Even if they decide not to sign Bohm to a multi-year extension, the Phillies have until five days after the conclusion of the World Series to decide whether to give him a qualifying offer. A one-year deal worth $23.15 million would be a steep increase for Bohm, who made $10.2 million in 2026, and a high price for a player with a .735 career OPS. But the potential benefit from the Phillies\u2019 perspective would be buying some extra time for Aidan Miller to get ready to take over a major league infield role. <\/p>\n Rather than finding another free agent as a stopgap, the Phillies might prefer to stick with a right-handed bat that they\u2019re already familiar with, at least for one more year. Should Bohm then decline the offer and sign somewhere else, the Phillies would also get draft pick compensation. <\/p>\n At his Oct. 15 news conference, Dombrowski declined to answer whether the Phillies planned to extend a qualifying offer to Bohm. He said the organization had not discussed it at that point. <\/p>\n But the Phillies have considered parting ways with Bohm before. He has been embroiled in trade rumors for the past two winters, and the Phillies openly pursued Bo Bichette last offseason. Had the Mets not swooped in and given Bichette a three-year, $126 million contract \u2014 with opt-outs in 2026 and 2027 \u2014 Bohm would have become redundant on the Phillies roster. <\/p>\n \u201cHarp\u2019s going to be our first baseman, right? So if Alec Bohm\u2019s coming back \u2026 that means he has to be our third baseman, right?\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cSo how does that compare with him at third base, as an all-around player, vs. some other things that we could do?\u201d<\/p>\n Free agent options<\/p>\n Along with Bohm, Arraez and Sosa are other potential free agent departures from the Phillies\u2019 2026 infield. <\/p>\n Even before Arraez\u2019s season ended on Sept. 24 when he sprained his ankle trying to avoid a tag at first base, he had been slumping. After hitting at an above .300 clip for the first four months of the season, his production took a hit in August and September. He started hitting the ball in the air more, with a 42.1% fly ball rate after Aug. 1, which contributed to a .271 batting average in those two months.<\/p>\n Still, Arraez, 29, finished second in the National League in batting average at .310, just shy of winning his fourth career batting title. He also had one of the best defensive seasons of his career, recording plus-12 outs above average at second base. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Who should return to the Phillies in 2027 and who should move on? See our picks and make your own.<\/a><\/p>\n Arraez\u2019s contact-driven approach in a power-focused era of baseball makes him a polarizing player, which is part of the reason he has played on four teams in the last three years. But Dombrowski didn\u2019t close the door on a potential reunion. <\/p>\n \u201cWe like him. I mean, he did a good job,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201c \u2026 Fit on the club well, and we\u2019ll just have to analyze his situation as we build our club with everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n Sosa departing would be a blow to the Phillies\u2019 utility depth. Since the Phillies acquired him in 2022, he has been a spark plug off the bench who could cover multiple positions. Sosa, 30, hit .290 with an .835 OPS against left-handed pitching in 2026.<\/p>\n But if he wants a more regular role, it likely won\u2019t be with the Phillies.<\/p>\n Bichette is the top ranked free agent third baseman by Wins Above Replacement (5.7), but that\u2019s provided he opts out from his Mets contract, which isn\u2019t a guarantee. And while the Phillies signaled their preference for Bichette, 28, over Bohm by pursuing him last offseason, his overarching numbers weren\u2019t too far off from Bohm\u2019s in 2026. He slashed .260\/.312\/.390 for the Mets, while Bohm slashed .249\/.315\/.383. <\/p>\n Other external options could include utility player Mauricio Dub\u00f3n, who is coming off one of the best seasons of his career with the Braves. Dub\u00f3n, 32, slashed .276\/.321\/.399 while providing defensive versatility. He has won two Gold Gloves as a utility player, and saw time at shortstop, second base, third base, left field, and center field for the Braves. <\/p>\n Though he\u2019s a right-handed hitter, Dub\u00f3n was slightly better against righties in 2026, with a .743 OPS compared to .675 against lefties. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Hayes: Sorry, Phillies fans, Dave Dombrowski is not going anywhere for a long, long time. Is that a bad thing?<\/a><\/p>\n Another player with experience at multiple infield positions, Jazz Chisholm Jr., is looking to rebound from a down year with the Yankees. He slashed .231\/.312\/.399 with 19 home runs and 55 RBIs, though Chisholm did set a career-high with 41 stolen bases. <\/p>\n Chisholm played under Mattingly on the Marlins for the first two seasons of his career. <\/p>\n He primarily played second base in 2026, where he had a plus-13 outs above average and plus-8 fielding run value, and he also has experience at third and in the outfield. <\/p>\n But Chisholm, a left-handed hitter, wouldn\u2019t help the Phillies much against left-handed pitching. He hit .218 with a .650 OPS against lefties last season. <\/p>\n Aidan Miller\u2019s health<\/p>\n The Phillies\u2019 solutions could also be internal. Aidan Miller, the organization\u2019s top prospect, partially salvaged what had seemed like a totally lost season when he returned from his back injury in September. He played just four games \u2014 going 4-for-12 \u2014 but helped double-A Reading win the Eastern League championship, and has continued to get at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. <\/p>\n On a recent appearance<\/a> on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer\u2019s baseball podcast, Miller said he feels \u201cas close to 100% as I can get.\u201d <\/p>\n Through eight games for the Surprise Saguaros, Miller hit .333 with a 1.100 OPS. He drew 15 walks, hit two doubles, a triple, and stole two bases.<\/p>\n