Rhys Hoskins is a former Phillies player we'll wish stayed in 2024
The departure of former star first baseman Rhys Hoskins could potentially hurt the Phillies the most. Hoskins was one of the key backbones of the ballclub for many seasons prior to 2023. He could be counted on consistently for close to 30 home runs and 80 RBI each season while playing solid defense at first base, with a career .992 fielding percentage.
More significantly, Hoskins could be counted on to come through in clutch situations, as shown by his stats when hitting with runners in scoring position. In his last active season in 2022, he batted .292 with a .903 OPS with seven home runs and 52 RBI with RISP. In the same situation with two outs, he was just as clutch, hitting .283 with a .934 OPS, five doubles, three home runs, and 24 RBI.
With numbers like that, he sure would have made a difference when the Phillies offense struggled mightily to score runs in the final three games of the NLCS against the Diamondbacks.
Hoskins missed the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL injury he suffered during spring training. As a result, Bryce Harper eventually took over first base duties during the season while Kyle Schwarber was taken out of the field and placed in the designated hitter role.
With the Phillies’ full intention to keep them in those respective positions for 2024, it left Hoskins without a spot in the two main positions he would fit. Therefore, the Phillies let him enter free agency and was ultimately picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers on a two-year deal. What the Phillies failed to recognize was the fact that having Hoskins as a part of the team makes them better, as manager Rob Thomson has expressed.
Without Hoskins, the Phillies are still solid contenders, but they might have been offensive juggernauts had they kept him instead to match toe to toe with the Atlanta Braves offense.