Update: Rhys Hoskins now says he is done for the 2021 season.
He will have surgery, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki:
Rhys Hoskins will not play again this season. He said he will have surgery soon to repair a tear in his lower abdomen.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) August 26, 2021
Original: Rhys Hoskins was barely back with the Phillies long enough to dirty his locker.
The Phillies, winless and reeling since Sunday, had bad news to share on Thursday when they announced some roster moves prior to the game: Hoskins is headed back to the IL only a few days after returning to the team.
Hoskins hit two home runs on Sunday and another on Wednesday night, batting 3-for-8 in three games.
He went on the IL with a right groin strain, while the Phillies brought a pair of pitchers back from the IL: Thursday night’s starter Zack Eflin and reliever José Alvarado.
Brad Miller will be starting for Phillies with Rhys Hoskins on the IL
Brad Miller will be getting the start at first base in place of Hoskins on Thursday. It’s a good bet that will continue as well. He had been the most frequent fill-in during the initial IL stint.
https://twitter.com/Phillies/status/1430977694385201163
Miller has gone 52-for-239 for the season, good for a .218 average to go along with a .310 on-base percentage .414 slugging. With a 98 OPS+ that puts his batting at just a bit below average.
He’s been worse in August, batting an ugly .154/.254/.365.
The offense has been bad, and losing Hoskins again could be the final blow to a struggling Phillies club.
The team has lost 10 of 14 since Aug. 8 and fallen from NL East leaders to 5 games behind the Braves. The Phillies playoff chances, per FanGraphs, are now less than 20%.
So really, this is the last thing they needed.
Eflin will start Thursday night for the first time since July 16. He has a 4.17 ERA across 106 innings for the club with 99 strikeouts and 15 walks.