Apr 10, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Adolis Garcia (53) reacts after flying out against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA — Adolis García is hitting cleanup Monday night as the Phillies open up a series with the Chicago Cubs and try to find some semblance of middle-of-the-order production.
Lineup tonight for Phillies.
1. Turner
2. Schwarber
3. Harper
4. Garcia
5. Marsh
6. Bohm
7. Stott
8. Realmuto
9. Crawford
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) April 13, 2026
Despite the fact that García is hitting just .204 with a .631 OPS, he’s probably the right person for Rob Thomson to give the next shot to hit cleanup.
García, though, is coming off an 0-for-10 weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with a walk Saturday the only time he reached base in the series.
"Earlier in the year, I thought he was controlling the zone," Thomson said of García's recent slump. "I think he's trying to do a little bit too much, just like a lot of the other guys. And he's expanding a little bit. But he's just gotta reel it in."
Thomson acknowledged the Phillies did considering the possibility of having J.T. Realmuto or Alec Bohm hit cleanup Monday, before settling on García as the team tries to "find the right mix."
Frankly, none of the options that Thomson has right now are very good.
Brandon Marsh hit out of the cleanup spot over the weekend against the Diamondbacks, but they didn’t have a lefty in their bullpen. The Cubs do, as Craig Counsell’s bullpen currently includes four lefties — Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner, Riley Martin and Charlie Barnes. Marsh has hit just .196 with 36 strikeouts in 82 at-bats against left-handed pitchers since the start of the season. The Cubs will start a righty Monday in Javier Assad, but Marsh — still hitting fifth Monday — could be a candidate to be pinch hit for later in the game against a left-handed reliever.
Who else is there for Thomson to have hit fourth or fifth right now? Assuming the Phillies continue to have Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper all hit in the top three in the lineup — which Thomson says they will, because it makes sure that the best hitters on the team get the most at-bats — there’s going to be a suboptimal option hitting fourth and/or fifth.
Bohm was the Opening Day cleanup hitter, but considering he’s batting just .158 with a .458 OPS in 60 plate appearances this season, even sixth feels high for him to be hitting now.
Then again, Bryson Stott isn’t producing the way the Phillies hoped out of the gates either. Stott — who is hitting seventh Monday — is hitting .196 with a .477 OPS. He had some nice swings Saturday, but twice failed to come through with runners on the corners and no one out Sunday.
Realmuto is back in the lineup after getting a ball fouled off the inside of his right foot for the second time this season forced him to miss Sunday’s game. Realmuto is hitting eighth, which feels appropriate for a 35-year-old catcher who has a .714 OPS.
Meanwhile, Justin Crawford continues to hit ninth. The rookie is off to a tremendous start, batting .341 in his first 14 MLB games. The Phillies want to limit the pressure on Crawford, which is probably a good strategy as he gets his feet wet in his first MLB campaign. Crawford also doesn’t profile as a middle-of-the-order hitter, although there will be some calls for the Phillies to have him hit at the top of the lineup if things are still trending this way in a couple weeks.
Things are going to get better, it’s just a matter of how much better. Bohm and Stott, specifically, are going to be better than they’ve been to this point, even if neither has developed into a core piece in the lineup.
It’s also not as if Dave Dombrowksi and the Phillies are unaware that they are a bat or two short in the middle of the order. It’s why they tried to sign Bo Bichette before the New York Mets swooped in at the last second and landed him instead. For what it’s worth, Bichette is only hitting .235 with a .593 OPS so far this year.
This is how the Phillies arrived at García being their cleanup hitter almost by default Monday. Even if he gets going and temporarily stabilizes the spot, it feels like a near certainty that the Phillies will be searching for a right-handed middle-of-the-order bat in advance of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
