Rhys Hoskins, Carlos Santana to represent Phillies in Japanese All-Star series

Two Phillies will travel to Japan for an All-Star game

Phillies first baseman/outfielder Rhys Hoskins and first baseman Carlos Santana will represent Philadelphia and Major League Baseball in the 2018 Japan All-Star Series.

Major league players will play seven games against teams from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from November 8-15. Florida Marlins manager Don Mattingley will serve as the manager for the Major league players team and have former stars Edgar Martinez and Hideki Matsui on his coaching staff.

Hoskins being named to the team gives him another platform to grow into the star Philadelphia has seen him as. Across Major League Baseball Hoskins gained notoriety for his performance in the Home Run Derby, but this could push him onto an even greater level playing overseas.

More from Phillies History

• Philadelphia Phillies achieve franchise feat for first time since 2011
• Phillies History on August 23: Eric Bruntlett records historic triple play
• Remembering Vin Scully: Dodgers voice’s first game was against Phillies
• Phillies in hot water for inviting Pete Rose to 1980 World Series celebration
• 4 Phillies players who skipped the minors and went straight to MLB

This could also someday lead to Hoskins participating for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic or Olympics. Baseball will return to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 and the next World Baseball Classic is scheduled to be in 2021.

Santana has not played for Team Dominican Republic despite having a steady nine-year career. Unfortunately for Santana, that team’s infield was loaded with Manny Machado, Jonathan Villar, Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Jean Segura, Hanley Ramirez, and Jose Reyes.

Not a lot of room for Santana, though there could be a spot down the road if he’s still hitting 20 home runs a year. He likely missed his chance by not making the team last year and the next tournament not for a couple of years with the Olympics.