Phillies Reveal First Base Plans With Rhys Hoskins Out For Season

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Within seconds after longtime Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins went down in agony along the first base line in Clearwater Thursday afternoon, the eight other Phillies on the field had formed a tight circle around him, like a phalanx of lion pride closing around one of its wounded.

And almost as quickly as Hoskins' teammates picked him up, do the Phillies have an answer for who will replace him at first base.

Power hitter Darick Hall, an unsung hero in the Phillies playoff push late last summer who filled in for Bryce Harper as designated hitter, will get most of the reps there. It seemed the obvious choice, given Hall's monster spring thus far, and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed it to reporters Friday morning.

RELATED: Phillies Rhys Hoskins Tears ACL, Likely Out For Season

Hall, 27, had been seen as the frontrunner to take over Harper's DH role in the beginning of the season, anyway. So his bat was always going to be in the lineup for the first few months of the season. But now, barring a trade, it appears the Phillies will lean on him heavily for most of 2023.

Losing Hoskins, a clubhouse leader, the second longest tenured Phillie after Aaron Nola, and one of the faces of the franchises, remains a devastating blow. But there is reason to believe that Hall can keep the Phillies competitive. He slugged 9 home runs in 135 at bats with the Phillies last year, which is about 35 home run pace for a full season. He was sheerly dominant in Triple-A, and his stats this spring indicate that none of its was a fluke: he leads all Phillies with a 1.035 on base plus slugging percentage in the Grapefruit League.

Moving Hall to first also means the Phillies will be able to cycle Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, and J.T. Realmuto through the slot, while using slick fielding Edmundo Sosa, and perhaps Scott Kingery, at third base and in the corner outfield slots.

Hoskins will undergo surgery. He'll be out at least 7 to 9 months. While there's an outside chance, on paper at least, that he could return if the Phillies make another deep postseason run, team officials have declined to elaborate on specifics. The good news: there's precedent for exactly that situation on the Phillies own roster. Kyle Schwarber tore his ACL in the spring of 2016 as a Chicago Cub. He missed the entire regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, but was able to return for the World Series, batting .412 with a .971 OPS.

The Cubs won the World Series.

Opening Day is six days away.