Sep 10, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper (3) celebrates his home run with first baseman Rhys Hoskins (17) against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
If you take Bryce Harper at his word, he and the Phillies didn't discuss potentially bringing back Rhys Hoskins this past offseason or early in Spring Training.
In an interview with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie on SportsRadio 94 WIP, Harper was asked whether he and others in the clubhouse may have advocated for a a reunion with Hoskins in an attempt to bolster the lineup after the top three of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and him.
"Yeah, we didn't really talk about Rhys," Harper said. "We talked about Rhys maybe last year at deadline at a certain point, but we never talked about Rhys this offseason, or team-wise we didn't, maybe internally they did. But for us, we never talked about it in camp or anything like that.
"Obviously, you'd always love to have Rhys back in any fashion. It kinda just doesn't fit for us as a team right now. I don't know what, with the DH spot, first base, outfield, that kinda stuff. So just, didn't really make sense. Obviously, we would have loved to have him back at any point, but it just didn't make sense."
There had been speculation from Phillies fans in recent weeks as Hoskins lingered on the market about whether reuniting with the fan favorite could be feasible. Ultimately — considering it only took a minor-league deal with an invite to big-league Spring Training for the Cleveland Guardians to sign him – it's clear the Phillies didn't believe Hoskins was a fit at this juncture.
Hoskins was the primary left fielder for the Phillies in 2018, but it was a disaster, as he finished the season with minus-18 defensive runs saved and minus-17 outs above average. He's since gone through a left ACL tear and seven more birthdays, so it's kind of preposterous to think he could have been an option to platoon in left field with Brandon Marsh.
It's maybe a little less outlandish to talk about moving Schwarber and/or Harper into left field on a part-time basis to open up first base or DH, although both of those seem pretty far-fetched at this stage. Schwarber has played a grand total of 107 innings in left field over the last two seasons combined. Harper hasn't played in the outfield since April of 2021, and hasn't played left field since 2014. Even though he has talked about a willingness to move back out there if the chance to acquire a superstar first baseman emerged, Phillies fans probably need to accept at this point that Harper is not returning to the outfield.
The other reality here is that while the Phillies could use another middle-of-the-order bat (or two) right now, there's no recent evidence that Hoskins is that anymore. He missed the entire 2023 season, his last in Philadelphia, recovering from the aforementioned ACL tear. He posted just a .732 OPS in two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. There's a reason he had to settle for a minor-league deal, and landed with a team that wouldn't need to drastically change their defensive plans if he makes the club.
