Phillies should not even be considering trading Rhys Hoskins
By John Town
The Phillies do have plenty of holes on their roster, but trading Rhys Hoskins is nowhere near the best option to plug those holes.
While it may still be August, we are already getting some offseason-level hot takes about the Phillies. The latest comes from Joe Giglio of NJ.com, who wrote an article exploring the possibility of trading Rhys Hoskins for a starting pitcher this offseason.
Giglio’s logic is as follows: with Alec Bohm on the precipice of reaching the major-leagues, he could be ready to come to Philadelphia early next season. Since being drafted, Bohm was considered a candidate to move to first base due to his unspectacular defense at third. Hoskins stands in the way of that, so trading him would free up first for Bohm.
Already, this logic is shoddy at best. While Bohm is hitting exceptionally well this year, it is just one year of this production. Prospects have seemingly breakout seasons before falling back to earth all the time. Completely shifting course of the franchise based on one year of production from Bohm with just over two months at Double-A is exceptionally short-sighted.
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Back to Giglio, what’s his plan to replace the production lost by trading Hoskins? Signing Anthony Rendon. He will easily be this offseason’s most coveted free agent, with half the teams in the league having plenty of reason to sign him. While Bryce Harper and Manny Machado had few suitors, Rendon, an arguably better player than both, will be much more sought after.
Betting on signing Rendon is a tall task with just how popular he will be this offseason.
On top of that, the Nationals could extend him before free agency comes around (although that seems less likely by the day), completely throwing a wrench in these plans.
To even consider doing something like this, Rendon would have to put pen to paper with Philadelphia before anything else. Even then, trading Hoskins still doesn’t seem like the right move.
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Even with his recent slump, Hoskins remains Philadelphia’s second-best hitter behind Bryce Harper. Hoskins ranks second-best in OPS (.859), home runs (24), and runs batted in (70) and leads the team in on-base percentage (.381). No matter who is signed, losing Hoskins would be a massive blow to the lineup.
Further, other options don’t involve trading a franchise cornerstone. Bohm’s trade value may be at the highest it ever will be this offseason thanks to the season he is having. While trading prospects always leaves a sting, it would be less than trading Hoskins. Throw Bohm in with one or two of the team’s other top prospects and the team would get a similar value.
Next. Phillies are just an average baseball team. dark
Hoskins is a player that you build your franchise around, not one that should be dangled as trade bait. Hopefully, this is the last we hear about considering trading Hoskins.