The Phillies were the talk of the town during the offseason, having a new manager and a slew of exciting young players. But after Rhys Hoskins tore his ACL on a slide at first base in April, they’ve been playing like their season is already over.
The philadelphia phillies roster is a team that has been disappointing this season. With the devastating injury to Rhys Hoskins, it seems like the nail in the coffin for a disappointing Phillies season.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ offense relies heavily on Rhys Hoskins.
Despite being one of Major League Baseball’s most streaky players, Hoskins finished the 2021 season with 27 home runs, 29 doubles, 71 RBIs, and an.864 OPS. His OPS+ (on-base plus slugging) is 133, which is 33 points higher than the league average.
However, the Phillies have found themselves in an awkward position as a result of a recent report about Hoskins’ injury condition.
According to reports, Rhys Hoskins will miss the rest of the 2021 season.
Rhys Hoskins has announced that he is done for the season. Surgery for an abdominal injury is scheduled for next week.
August 26, 2021 — Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS)
Hoskins tried to return to the Phillies’ starting lineup after a stint on the disabled list earlier in August. He was only allowed to play every other day and seemed to be uncomfortable at first base.
Despite this, the veteran slugger put in a couple outings, blasting three home runs in two games. While his swings seemed to be beautiful, it was becoming more obvious that Hoskins was in excruciating agony. Before their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 26, the Phillies put him back to the IL, ending his season while he prepares for surgery.
You can put a fork in the Phillies despite the fact that there is still over a month of baseball still to be played. Even with Hoskins in the lineup, making the playoffs was a distant shot. It now seems to be on the verge of becoming impossible.
The Phillies’ depth is insufficient to overcome Rhys Hoskins’ injury.
Injuries are unavoidable in sports, and the Phillies aren’t the first club in baseball history to endure a devastating roster blow as the season progressed. The Phillies, on the other hand, are a club with little depth behind Hoskins capable of matching his output.
Brad Miller, the Phillies’ main substitute for Hoskins, is hitting.213 this season and.154 since May 26. Following prior defensive problems at third base, Alec Bohm, the Phillies’ best young hitter who has also played first base, was recently optioned to AAA.
Apart from the two? Nothing.
There are no other backup first basemen on the Phillies’ MLB roster, and there are no prospects in the minors worth seeing time with right now. Miller is expected to stay at first base for the rest of the season, reducing the Phillies’ prospects of reaching the playoffs even more.
The Phillies will have another bad year in 2021.
Rob Tringali/MLB Photos | Rhys Hoskins
The last time the Phillies reached the playoffs was in 2011. They’ve done everything since then to get back there.
Between 2013 and 2017, they went through a multi-year rebuilding period that produced little big league talent. Free agents Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, Didi Gregorius, and Zack Wheeler cost them a lot of money. Since joining Philadelphia, Harper and Wheeler have been outstanding, but they haven’t been able to compensate for the team’s shortcomings.
Joe Girardi and Dave Dombrowski, two well-known baseball brains, were also brought in by the Phillies. Dombrowski’s fate is still up in the air, but Girardi has mostly disappointed. All of these (expensive) improvements have resulted in nothing.
The Phillies will most certainly blame their bad season on losing Hoskins, but the reality is that if the club wants to return to October baseball, significant changes must be made this summer.
Baseball Reference provided all stats.
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