Alec Bohm grounded into a game-ending double play. Bryce Harper sat idle with a wrist injury. The Phillies were swept by the Pirates, a series many thought would serve as a reset, not a reckoning. As the offense sputtered to eight runs over five straight losses, frustration rippled beyond the clubhouse and into the front office. The cries for a fix aren’t just about winning now, they’re about avoiding the mistakes of the past. Chief among them: trading away the next Logan O’Hoppe.

O’Hoppe’s name still stings in Philly circles. Once a promising homegrown catcher, he was sent to the Angels for Brandon Marsh—a move that, in hindsight, left the Phillies with a solid outfielder but cost them a potential All-Star bat behind the plate. Now, with the core trio of Marsh, Bohm, and Bryson Stott failing to elevate, the pressure is mounting. This time, the front office can’t afford to let the next O’Hoppe walk out the door.

“You don’t trade away the next Logan O’Hoppe at the deadline,” Philly columnist David Murphy warned recently. It’s a clear shot across the bow, one aimed directly at Dave Dombrowski’s desk. The front office has to decide: trust their next wave of talent or cash it in for short-term help.

The stakes? Immense. The Phillies are sitting on a $300 million roster that’s aging fast and producing inconsistently. The farm system, long criticized for underdelivering, is finally bearing fruit. But as the trade deadline nears, the front office faces a familiar temptation: use that fruit to patch holes instead of letting it ripen. The message this time? Don’t repeat history.

The sentiment is loud and clear. Phillies leadership must choose wisely and quickly between trusting their player development or gambling, again, on immediate fixes. Because this time, fans will remember who they let walk.

One swing, no spark: Alec Bohm’s double play defines Phillies’ slide

Alec Bohm stepped into the box on Sunday afternoon with two runners on, one out, and the game begging for a hero. The Phillies were down 2-1 in the ninth, desperate to avoid a sweep by the Pirates in what was supposed to be a “get-right” series. Instead, Bohm swung at the second pitch and grounded into a soul-crushing double play, killing the rally, the comeback. And maybe the illusion that this team can lean on its core when it counts.

The numbers make the moment sting even more. He hasn’t driven in a run since June 1 and has just one extra-base hit in that span. That Sunday double play wasn’t an outlier, it was a trend. On a team that’s scored eight runs in its last five games, Bohm’s bat has gone silent when the noise was needed most. And it’s not just him. The trio of Bohm, Stott, and Marsh has combined to hit .193 (18-for-93) over the last 10 games, nine of them losses.

What made Bohm’s moment hurt more was its finality. No long at-bat, no foul-off fight, no drama. Just a routine two-hopper and a slow walk back to the dugout. For a player once praised for his mental toughness and improved plate discipline, Bohm looked unsure and tight, like a guy pressing under expectations. And in a clubhouse suddenly stripped of Harper’s presence and Alvarado’s fire, the pressure to deliver is real.

That final swing didn’t just end a game. It told the story of a team still waiting for someone from its young core to rise above the slump and take control.