The Phillies are fighting for their playoff lives, but they’ll have to do so without one of their best hitters, as manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday that first baseman Rhys Hoskins is a long shot to return before the regular season draws to a close (Twitter link via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). Hoskins, out with a UCL injury in his non-throwing arm, took some dry swings today but isn’t yet ready to face live pitching.
It’s been a rough go of it on the injury front for the Phillies. Star catcher J.T. Realmuto was recently sidelined for more than a week due to hip trouble, and Bryce Harper has dealt with back discomfort in recent weeks. Both Harper and Realmuto are in tonight’s lineup and playing at less than 100 percent, per Girardi, which will likely be the case through season’s end. Harper is serving as the DH. Realmuto is at first base.
Hoskins, 27, has bounced back from a last year’s down season (by his standards). Through 185 plate appearances in 2020, he’s batted .245/.384/.503 with 10 homers, nine doubles and a hefty 15.7 percent walk rate. His output at the plate has been 39 percent better than that of a league-average hitter by measure of wRC+.
The Phillies aren’t dead in the water yet, but a four-game losing streak — capped by another bullpen meltdown and a walk-off loss against the Nats last night — hasn’t helped their chances. But at 27-29, the Phils are only a game back in the loss column to the three teams ahead of them in playoff standings (Cincinnati, Milwaukee and San Francisco. FanGraphs still gives them a one in three chance of making the postseason, but they’ll need to right the ship in a hurry — and likely see some of those previously mentioned competitors stumble — to secure their spot.
Have the surgery now.
Remember Bob Hoskins in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
For a win-now team, these Phillies were poorly assembled. A lot of questions to answer over the winter with multiple holes to fill. Outside of Bohm, there isn’t much in the way of young talent on the immediate horizon. A team can’t hide a bad farm system for very long.
i think they tried to end the rebuild too early and it cost us. i’m fine with not having a load of prospects on the way – the rebulid is over after all and we arent the Dodgers and Yankees who just constantly pump out talent. personally, the improved drafting recently has been good. I think Haseley-Bohm-Stott is a good three year stretch of picks. the short term outlook for the young talent isnt too good, but we have some prospects in the lower and middle minors that I’m excited for. (some that fly under the radar) if the plan is to hold and retool until they get here im fine, but i wolnt agree that they need to completely hit the reset button again.
Everything changes if some form of the expanded playoffs is here for the long haul. As a Dodger fan I am supposed to hate that possibility but actually love it. No more complete tear-downs and five-year plans. In this way, it will help baseball more than other sports since player development can take a while. I get people thinking it dilutes the playoffs, but in the long run, I think it will generate more fan interest, I am sick of teams being far behind heading into September and being eclipsed by football. A team with two solid starting pitchers, speed, and strong fundamentals can squeeze in and be a royal pain in October. For the Phillies with Nola and Wheeler, it would make their approach to 2021 completely different. Stay in the hunt and fill a few holes as you move along.
@darkside
I’ve heard a phew Phillies phans say that they tried to move to quickly through their rebuild.
I have a good phriend who is phrom Philly. He was saying this back when they signed Arietta.
Now, I’m not overly phamiliar with their team or their pharm system? So, I’m wondering how delaying a season, or so, would have changed things.
They looked on their way to me. Then – for better or worse – the stupid money happened.
Guess I see a decent team core that really tried to improve via free agency with mixed results.
The Phillies’ regular season ends with three games in Tampa Bay, which is no picnic should they enter the weekend trailing the other three teams. Granted, those teams have tough opponents as well. The Brewers will be in St. Louis, the Reds in Minnesota, the Giants in San Diego. But out of all those teams, Tampa Bay is the one I’d least like to play if I’m the Phillies. Especially since the Phils are the ones doing the chasing. At this point, they don’t control their own destiny. Tonight is obviously a must-win.
before yesterday i said i still expected them to get a playoff spot simply because the other teams chasing them haven’t done that well. last night changed that. they need to make up ground now. id they kept treading water they could have been fine, but you have to get back above .500.
The second-game loss was a crusher but wouldn’t have been nearly as detrimental had they won the Nola game. Getting a split would have made a world of difference. When they left the bases loaded in the eighth inning of the second game, I figured it might come back to haunt them. Still do-able, but now they have to win three-of-four just to finish .500. Milwaukee and San Francisco both with doubleheaders on Saturday. A day to channel hop. Wheeler and Nola will have to go on Saturday and Sunday. That Velasquez-Morton matchup on Friday is worrisome.
if Hoskins needs surgery he should have it now. hard to even expect that much from him even of he does get back. id prefer we dont go down the Seranthony road again. only shame is we dont have a single 1B who can actually field. (Bruce is not a 1B and i never want to see him there again)
The winter will be a challenge. Didi might be more crucial than Realmuto. If they let J.T. go, they can perhaps sign McCann to share the catching duties with Knapp and go all-in on Springer to play CF. The Mets are in a similar predicament of needing a C and a CF. The difference is that the Phils must retain their SS. Didi, McCann, and Springer would make them strong up the middle. The question is how many years for Springer. However it shakes out, Bohm is a major positive who just might sneak away with NL ROY. A shame they didn’t bring him up sooner.
Cronenworth, Dustin May, and Devin Williams are all more deserving of ROY. Bohm just isn’t good with the glove, and I’m a Phillies fan.
Don’t forget Gonsolin. As good as May has been, Gonsolin has perhaps been better though with fewer opportunities. Those seven innings against the Padres last week was a major statement. In 11 fewer innings than May, Gonsolin’s numbers are 1.77 ERA; 0.787 WHIP and .175 BA Against. I’m feeling good about both guys making meaningful contributions in October.
I did forget, I was looking through qualified players. Gonsolins definitely up there.
100% disagree with Bohm’s glove assessment. While the guys you mentioned are probably in a better position to snag the ROY Alec Bohm has been ABOVE AVERAGE during his rookie year in the field
Baseball reference has pegged this year’s “average fielding percentage” for 3rd base at .956….Bohm comes in at .971. I know he’s played some at first base, but that makes what this rookie has done even more impressive.
We all know the rigors of playing the hot corner, and while he might not have the best lateral range at 3rd?? His arm and positioning are very good.
At first?? His footwork and mechanics are surprisingly good….I know it may come off as splitting hairs, but with so much that we’re able to complain about with these Phillies?? Let’s celebrate what we can.
Alec Bohm is a celebration this year!! Glove included.
that’s actually interesting. granted, there have been some bad non-error plays as well, but he’s also made some good ones too.
I’m talking about Bohm specifically at 3rd. Even though fielding% is not the most telling of a players defensive skills, he has a league average fielding% at 3rd, not above average. The .971 is his total % for all positions.
Second, he has a -0.5 dWAR and -6 DRS. Sure there’s room to improve for him, but scouts have been saying he should move to first during his pro career, and I feel like it would be in the Phils best interest as one of the worst defensive teams to move him to 1st, especially with the possibility of Hoskins not returning until who knows when.
Dang…that was a deep dWAR dive 🙂
I totally agree on the move to 1b opinion that’s been put out there. I’m not convinced we need to hand Rhys a long contract based on his wildly inconsistent offense.
Phils can use Segura at short if needed. DiDi is not as crucial as JT and most importantly, pitching.
Uh.
Dunno, @darkside.
TJS for a position player doesn’t entail as much rehab: 8-10 months.
Also.
Surgery is a last resort, man.
Look…there are *still* Yankee fans clamoring for Tanaka to “get the surgery”.
Hopefully, Hoskins can continue playing without it.
So Long MK
I’m not as confident he gets fired in a 60 game season, with a team that was crushed by injuries in the last few weeks. I’m not saying I want him to stay, but the injuries may save him. Still, give this team a pen and they’re a contender. That’s no small task though.
Remember when they said bryce harper was an mvp candidate. Massively overrated player.
Considering his age 22 and 24 seasons, I’d say Harper is a good candidate every year until he hits… 34 maybe? He’s been pretty solid since 2018, not MVP caliber but still above average. I recommend you check out Foolish Baseball’s video on Harper, it may make some of his detractors give him another chance.
Don’t see how Harper can fix a historically bad bullpen. Harper carried this team for chunks of the season. He’s not the issue.
Typical sour LA fan. You can’t catch every big fish in the sea. If anything Harper is underrated. His issue is that he is streaky. His passion for the game however is unmatched. He would have been a World Series difference maker for LA.
$%#^@ about Hoskins for sure, he was making strides this year. Phils should leave Realmuto at 1b for the remainder of 2020. (he’s banged up and is better than anyone else we have) Knapp/Marchan can handle c duties. Continuity could help…?
Tandem at c, Realmuto@1b Segura@2b Didi@ss Bohm@3b makes the inf VERY solid. OF/DH splits w/ Cutch, Hasley, Harper, Quinn, Kingery, Moniak and Bruce…
Playoffs? Best, and possibly only route to the playoffs since others have more games remaining than the Phillies three, is to win two out of three in Tampa and hope the Marlins go belly-up vs. the Braves today and the Yankees this weekend.
30-30 ain’t great, but if it allows us to finish second in the NL East, we’re in. Like our chances in the three-game series. Assuming Nola has to pitch this Sunday, it would mean our playoffs open up with Eflin followed by Wheeler and Nola..
But first we gotta get there. Bummer is, if we finish in a tie with Miami, they win the tie breaker by virtue of having the better record in heads-up play.
And wouldn’t it be a hoot if we had to play the Giants and Gabe Kapler in the first round. Don’t even know if that scenario is possible, but it makes for great theater.
As for Klentak, he has to go. He’s proven himself incapable in terms of recognizing talent. Yeah, signing guys like Cutch and Didi were good moves, but it’s not like MK unearthed a heretofore unheard of diamond in the rough. Same with Harper , Wheeler and trading for Realmuto and Segura. All four had very visible track records.
I’ll give MK credit for drafting Bohm. He looks like he’ll be part of our line up for years to come. Not as confident about Haseley or Moniak. Neither one looks like more than a fourth outfielder/bench player.
MK needs to steal a page out of the Dodgers playbook. When I talk about unearthing diamonds in the rough, I only need look westward to see how it’s done.
Dodgers signed players other teams seemingly didn’t want and ended up with a mother lode: of talent Chris Taylor, Justin Turner, Kiki Hernandez and Max Muncy.
Add them to all the homegrown talent (Bellinger, Lux, Seager, Barnes and their bevy of starting pitchers) and it’s easy to see why they contend for top cheese every year.
Signing Mookie Betts has already paid huge dividends and should continue to do so for years to come. After an injury plagued 2019, Pollock has stayed healthy and played very well; especially hitting for pop.
MK, that’s how you do it. If you ever learn, it most likely will be with another organization. Cigar Guy needs to pink slip you the moment our season ends.