The Phillies and first baseman Rhys Hoskins have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $12MM contract for 2023, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.
Hoskins, 30 in March, has spent his entire career with the Phillies so far, having been drafted by them in 2014. He is now on the cusp of free agency, however, as this is his final season of club control. During 2023, he will cross six years of service time and qualify for the open market at season’s end.
Since his debut in 2017, he’s established himself as a reliably above-average hitter. He’s hit at least 27 home runs in each season, outside of 10 in the shortened 2020 campaign and 18 in his 50-game debut in 2017. Apart from that debut, his wRC+ has been between 112 and 139 in each season. He has 148 career homers and a batting line of .242/.353/.492 for a wRC+ of 125. He isn’t considered to be an especially strong defender or baserunner, which was kept his wins above replacement from ever topping 2.4, per FanGraphs, but he’s also never been below 2.0 in a full campaign thanks to his reliable offense.
That potent bat pushed his salary up to $4.8MM in 2021, his first time qualifying for arbitration. He got to $7.7MM last year and now $12MM this year, just below the $12.6MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. The Phillies finally cracked the postseason last year, breaking a decade-long drought and going all the way to the World Series. They have been aggressive in reloading to try to get back there in 2023, with Hoskins likely to be a key part of that in his final season before he’s set to reach the open market. He and the club could always reach an extension that keeps him in Philly beyond the upcoming campaign, but they also have other first base/designated hitter types, such as Darick Hall, Alec Bohm, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos.
They should trade him for a pitcher. The Phillies defense has a lot of holes, and Wheeler clearly has an elbow issue, and Nola threw more last year than he ever have in his career when you factor in October.
Having Hoskins, Schwarber and Castellanos in the field on a daily basis is not going to go well over 162.
Which pitcher? Their rotation is pretty stacked. Also Hoskins produces a lot of offense.
I don’t know why you Phillies fans hate Hoskins so much, he’s not a star, but he’s a perfectly fine player.
Besides, the Hoskins isn’t going to bring back any starter who’d actually upgrade their rotation, he’s not THAT bad at 1B, and the Phillies don’t have anyone good to replace him. It makes no sense to trade him.
If there’s somebody your team should cut, it’s Castellanos. He is a true bottom-shelf defender, and the bat did not look good last year
@roiste as a loooong time Phillies fan I can’t stand the Hoskins hate.
Am not a huge fan of his, but all the guy has ever done is do his job and produce….When he’s hot, he carries the team…But he has the cold streaks as well…..kinda Alaska cold….
He has emerged as a veteran presence and is needed for 2023. IMHO they need him to win….He ‘s got his ’23 $, so let him play it out and then, as a Boras client, move on…and Dombrowski can figure it out….
It’s not all Phillies fans. I also hate when people say just throw Bohm at 1B as if he provides enough offense for that. Phillies have 4 bad fielders, so I understand when people get frustrated with Hoskins’ defense, but his offensive production has been solid every single year. He’s Pete Alonso with worse defense. That doesn’t just grow on trees.
Fully agree on Bohm – hear the argument all of the time. Right now the bat needs to improve in order to be a positive at 3B, much less 1B.
I think that he will improve, but he is far from a sure thing and his chances of being a great choice at first are not good.
As a Braves fan, I always worry when Hoskins comes to the plate. Tough out.
Looking forward to 2023, going to be a very competitive season, Play ball!
Just joining in to share that I also don’t get the Hoskins hate and Bohm love. Bohm has had 1100+ plate appearances–and produced 0.3 bWAR. At this stage it’s much more likely Bohm is Maikel Franco, or Cody Asche or Rick Schu than he is Schmidt or Rolen.
Well – Bohm will not be Schmidt or Rolen for sure. But I do think that we need to give him time.
He surprised all of us by managing to not only stick at 3rd after appearing as a lost cause, but actually looking like at least an average fielder most of the time with some very nice plays.
The bat was his carrying tool when drafted and he still has plenty of room. But sure – he frustrates all of us. The power has to take a big uptick, He hits the ball hard a lot but without the results and some of it is in the length of the swing – that 6’5″ lanky frame needs to unspool. I see him on a lot of mistake pitches that he should drive, and instead he hits a topspin single as he just missed it.
Great kid…working hard…unless he falls apart he is our 3B for a couple more years probably. But unless that bat starts to take off we will be looking elsewhere as he becomes more expensive.
Rick Schue, A name you don’t hear very often. The kid that moved Schmidt to 1B.
Hoskins is great value at $12 million. He has great power, takes a lot of pitches and can get on some wild hot streaks like he did in the playoffs. You take that with the defense.
ryanD…your post is, well, it is…..
The Phillies staff is set, with at least 2 hanging in aaa and Dombrowski has added quite a bit to the pen.
My Q is what kind of pitcher should they expect back for a 1 year rental…? And then who gets the 1b duty…? Further the Hoskins/Schwarber/Castellanos guys got them to the WS….no?
If you wanted to “be first” you win….But the content, not so much…
That ship has sailed. This was a 2022 argument.
Hoskins would make a great DH if they didn’t already have 4 other DH’s. If Darick Hall can hit consistently they may want to consider trading Hoskins, but I doubt that will happen.
Wheels elbow issues prevented him from topping 101 on the gun. Sadly he could only hit 98-99 consistently. Von addressed the stacked staff.
i like when people who don’t watch the phillies come on here and say hoskins’ defense isn’t that bad
We all know it’s bad, but it’s not like his hitting doesn’t make up for it…?
The Phils have been trading off his D for his O from day one…..no..?
Tried him in LF…nope. But c’mon all the Cali native has done is kept quiet and produced…..
Do you have a better option or have offered what they should have done to dump him earlier….?
cpdpoet, do you have a random number generator for the number of periods at the end of your sentence? And a coin flip simulator to determine whether each sentence will have a question mark at the end?
An ellipsis (…) is a set of three periods that indicates the omission of words from quoted material, hesitation, or trailing off in dialogue or train of thought. An ellipsis should have spaces before, between, and after the periods…Any ?????
No one here defended his defense. In fact, if Hoskins defended his own defense, he’d make an error. He’s a horrible fielder, but provides tremendous offensive production.
“If Hoskins defended his own defense he’d probably commit an error” this is gold
@von
Perfection lmao
I’ve read every post on this thread to this point and haven’t read that once. Sure, you can say your statement extends to previous articles but without a statement in the article you actually posted this in it just looks like your arguing against a position nobody stated.
” he’s not THAT bad at 1B”
-roiste
Why can’t you guys include your own site’s projections on these posts?
Nvm. I see the number on the updated post. Great writing!
I understand the desire to trade him…not due to Rhys but due to the roster construction and his contractual status. But it is not going to happen, and I am very happy to have Rhys back for the year.
He is a below par defender; doesn’t run well and doesn’t hit for a high average. But he gets on base at a good clip; sees a lot of pitches and has terrific raw power. And he is one of THE leaders on this team. Homegrown, great guy, and a good man to have on a team that expects to win. It would not go over well in the clubhouse if he is traded.
Realistically we won’t get a lot back for him, and he is more useful for one year here than anything that a sane GM would pay for him. And we won’t extend him I don’t think. So enjoy this year with him and wish him well.
@carver……yup…..
I shall wish him well after the 2023 season…..and hope he has a great future.
For now and this season….he is critical for this year’s WS run….
One of the things that bothers me – I saw a lot of him in Reading, and then his early success when he came up. He drove the ball with authority to all fields more often with a more balanced swing and approach. Then Klentak and Co. took charge and created yank and crank hitters because his metrics said so, and Rhys was lost.
He recovered a lot of it and is better, but he never took that step that I thought might be available to him. He seemed as if he could have been that .280 / .370 / 525 hitter that was not as streaky if he got back to form. Realistically, perhaps it is simply that the league adjusted over time and he found his level. But I think that there was another gear.
Now, the occasional inability to catch a throw that hits him in the mitt…that is one that I do not get. Shades of Dr. Strangeglove…
Hoskins is worth more to the Phillies than he is to another team in trade. We wouldn’t see much value in return. That said, happy to have him at that deal. See where he does this year and can think on the future later. He brings a lot of good to this team and clubhouse and I think that’s iverlooked with the Hoskins haters.
Everything koldjerky said. If this is Hoskins last ride in Philly, so be it. But right now he’s our best chance to win.
Gotta love all the people yea just trade Hoskins meanwhile who’s playing first? Oh forgot Bohm just stick him at first lol. We need Hoskins in that locker room. Let it ride another season let’s go
Hey at least his wife will be buying people more beer at the ballpark.
He needs to practice less on his celebrations and learn how to be a consistent hitter.