Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins underwent surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Thursday, MLB opening day, the team announced. The operation was performed by Dr. Steve Singleton in Fort Worth, Texas and entails a recovery period of seven to nine months that will see him miss the entire season.
The NL champion was pulled off the field last Thursday afternoon after sustaining a contactless left knee injury while fielding a ground ball behind first base during a spring game against the Detroit Tigers.
Here’s the injury. Hoskins fell awkwardly and suddenly:
The 30-year-old Hoskins becomes a free agent after the season. He has been a steady midfielder throughout his career and last season hit .246/.332/.462 with 33 doubles and 30 home runs. The Phillies are already without Bryce Harper, who will miss the start of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
In Hoskins’ absence, the Phillies are expected to open the season with Darick Hall in the cold corner.
“I’m comfortable saying we really like Darick Hall,” Dave Dombrowski told reporters on Friday. “We feel like he’s going to get most of the playing time on first base. … We think he’s ready to step up and become a big league player.”
Should Hall falter or get injured himself, the Phillies could slide Alec Bohm to first base and utility man Josh Harrison to third. Hall’s move opens up the DH spot for either Bohm, Nick Castellanos or Kyle Schwarber.
Miguel Sanó is currently the best bat-free agency available if the Phillies decide to move outside the organization to replace Hoskins. Luke Voit has an opt-out date coming up on his minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and could make sense for the Phillies.
The Phillies went 87-75 last season and won the National League pennant. Hoskins hit six home runs in the team’s 17 postseason games.