It really doesn't say much about Rhys Hoskins' appeal in Philadelphia that there hasn't been a gaping hole at 1st without him. Bryce Harper moved over, became a gold glover, and there's been no atrophy at that position because Bryce is the friggin best. Rhys did a lot during his 6 years at the corner in Philly, but his flaws were well-documented: he wasn't great at hitting for average, he'd find very unfortunate times to get hurt, and he struck out a ton. Yes, he hit 25 or more homers on 4 occasions, had that insane 18-homers-in-50-games stretch to start his career in 2017, and had 6 homers and 12 RBIs during the 2022 postseason, but Hoskins, as much as we loved him in Philly, was limited. He was a great power hitter, mediocre defensively and wasn't great running bases. When you have two guys who are on the roster purely for power...and one of them is Kyle Schwarber, who can hit for contact when he's on, the other guy isn't gonna look like much.
But at the same time, even without being that multi-dimensional guy, Rhys Hoskins was a legend in Philly. He got us through a very dark period of Phillies baseball, became a tight battery with Harper, and helped us get to a World Series. He got us from 'well, we have to believe in something' to 'well, here we are.' When he got the injury in 2023, and it became clear that his Phillies career was likely over, it was a sad moment. And like, he got applause in Philly when he came back with the Brewers. Granted, the 2-homer day off Luzardo probably didn't help, but we love the guy.
Now...what makes this interesting is the fact that there's a nonzero percent chance we deal for him in a month.
Hoskins in Milwaukee has been...passable. He hits home runs, that's for sure. 26 last year, 9 already this year, he's on pace to hit 200 this season. He's also got 38 RBIs right now, and he's hitting .264. As a power bat, he's doing everything he should be doing, but it's clear that he stands out among a much younger Brewers infield, and his defense doesn't warrant the starts at 1B. Tyler Black is in the wings as a corner option, and I guess Oliver Dunn is too. If the Brewers need to trade Hoskins, they won't be completely screwed, and they have plenty of young guys coming. Also, if the Phils want to trade for Hoskins, Bryce Harper has said that he'd gladly move back to right field to accommodate it.
It honestly depends on if the Brewers will be in position to sell. They have a good team, and are in the thick of it, but lack some of the punch they had last season, and definitely have a rebuilding pitching staff. We'll see if they eventually go through with it, and if it ends up being a deal that benefits the Phils. But I think it'd make a lot of people back here very happy.
Coming Tonight: Now that Mike Trout's back, the pressure's slightly off this guy, but he's still gonna be one of the most crucial guys on the Angels.
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