3 Bold Philadelphia Phillies predictions for the regular season

2. The Phillies will end the season with a first baseman acquired by the trade deadline.

As the Phillies begin their new season on Thursday, their beloved first baseman Rhys Hoskins will undergo surgery to repair his torn ACL. He will likely miss the entire season and will enter free agency in the fall. Barring he returns on a prove-it, one-year deal to try to cash in the following offseason, Hoskins may never don red pinstripes again.

The situation is overall unfortunate, especially for a team that was counting to have Hoskins near the middle of the batting lineup — even with an already deep lineup that now features shortstop standout Trea Turner.

Darick Hall against right-handers — and platooning Edmundo Sosa and Alec Bohm at the corner infield spots when facing a left-handed starter — seems to be the team's temporary solution to fill the first base void. But, is that platoon feasible long-term for a team with high aspirations?

That is why Dave Dombrowski may have all focus set at the trade deadline toward replacing Hoskins — perhaps not just for the final months of the season, but also long-term if possible, with Hoskins set to hit the open market. We recently wrote about possible injury replacements for Hoskins, one of which is Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron.

Cron has dealt with an injury himself — missing time in spring training due to back spasms — but is expected to be fine for Opening Day and the subsequent games. The 33-year-old California native is also a pending free agent, but if acquired, could be signed to an extension to ensure the Phillies do not just acquire him as a rental. Cron slugged 29 home runs and 102 RBI last season for the Rockies, a team that is not expected to make strides toward a postseason berth any time soon. If he is made available, expect the Phillies to be among the contenders in trade rumors.