Alec Bohm and the Mariners should want absolutely nothing to do with one another

The Mariners have various needs this coming offseason, including a quality right-handed hitter and sure-handed third baseman. And with Alec Bohm declaring himself for free agency, he could help kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. However, with his star appeal limited to looking like a younger Emilio Estevez or long-haired Austin Butler, it's our humble opinion that the M's would be wise to give him a wide berth.

That Bohm is even being mentioned traces back to rumors linking him with the Mariners a couple of offseasons ago, including by Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. At the time, initial trade talks had the Phillies reportedly asking for the like of Logan Gilbert or George Kirby in return, which was never going to happen. Now though, we don't envision a situation where the M's reach out to Bohm, even though he is no longer on the payroll in Philadelphia. (Even though a return to the Philles can't be ruled out.)

Keep in mind that back in December of 2024, Bohm was coming off the best year of his Major League career. He earned his first All-Star selection on his way to posting a single-season high 3.3 fWAR. And yet the concerns were there even then about how sustainable his success could be, as his form plummeted during the second half of the 2024 campaign and he was benched at certain points during the playoffs.

Alec Bohm just hasn't lived up to the hype of being a third overall draft pick

The reality is that while Bohm does show flashes of the talent which saw his drafted third overall in 2018 by the Phillies, he's just too frustratingly inconsistent. He will potentially have a strong market just by virtue of how many teams need right-hand bats, and he did hit over .300 with a .807 OPS and 122 wRC+ during the final two months of the 2026 regular season. However, for the year as a whole he batted .249 in a career-high 155 games and produced a sub-.700 OPS and 90 wRC+ on the way to an uninspiring 0.2 fWAR.

On top of this -- as harsh as it might sound -- Bohm is a poor third baseman and the last thing the Mariners need is (even) more lousy defense. However, the chances are this is exactly what they would get from the Omaha, Nebraska native, who ranked in the fourth percentile for Fielding Run Value. At this point his range is terrible and he may as well be playing with a cartoon-esque hole in his glove.

In fairness to Bohm though, this isn't exactly a one-way street. In truth, why the heck would he want to go to Seattle? Given his age and iffy 2026 season, he's a candidate for a short-term deal in order to prove himself. The last thing he should want to do is potentially sabotage himself by playing half his games at T-Mobile Park, which is a deathtrap for right-handed hitters as evidenced by ranking last in the majors, with a park factor of 91 for righties. For reference, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia is at 100.

This takes us to the last issue, which is that if the Mariners were interested in Bohm, they'd probably have to overpay in order to entice him to sign in Seattle. By extension, you're then talking about an even greater risk than the one already in play. Ultimately, this is a case where both parties are best served steering clear of each other and looking elsewhere to satisfy their respective needs.

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