The reigning National League champion Philadelphia Phillies suffered a significant blow on Thursday, losing first baseman Rhys Hoskins for the season with a torn ACL.
The unfortunate injury creates a hole in the Phillies lineup for the 2023 season, but it might also mark the end of Hoskins’ run with the franchise.
Signed to a one-year deal for 2023, the 30-year-old is eligible for free agency this offseason. After the bevy of lucrative long-term deals dished out by the Phillies in recent years, Hoskins may be a luxury the team can no longer afford next season.
With considerable dollar amounts already committed to recent offseason acquisitions, Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, the Phillies must also secure a new deal with starter Aaron Nola, whose contract is up after the 2023 season.
Hoskins went down after misplaying a ground ball off the bat of Austin Meadows during Thursday’s Grapefruit League contest against the Detroit Tigers. Moving backward, Hoskins misplayed the grounder and immediately crumbled to the grass, clutching his left knee.
Without Hoskins, 27-year-old Darick Hall will likely get most of the opportunities at first. A 14th-round pick by the Phillies in the 2016 MLB Draft, Hall made his MLB debut last season. While he mostly filled the designated hitter role with the Phillies, he played 99 games in the field for the team’s Triple-A affiliate, Lehigh Valley, in 2022.
Hoskins will eventually return, even if it’s unlikely to be with the Phillies. If this is it for Hoskins in Philly, he’ll leave as an all-time fan favorite, despite some rocky moments with the franchise.
A fifth-round pick by the Phillies in the 2014 MLB Draft, Hoskins has played 667 career games in red pinstripes since making his debut in 2017 and is one of the longest-tenured athletes in the city among all sports.
Perhaps Hoskins’ most memorable moment with the franchise came during the Phillies’ remarkable run to the World Series last season. In Game 3 of the NLDS, Hoskins hit a titanic three-run home run off Atlanta Braves starter Spencer Strider before spiking his bat to the crowd to create what is now a part of Philadelphia sports lore.
