Another Rhys Hoskins IL stint lands him in all too familiar territory with Brewers

Rhys Hoskins was pretty much the prize acquisition for the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason, one that included trading ace Corbin Burnes.

Coming into a season, the Brewers lost Craig Counsell and replaced him with a manager who only had 96 games of experience at the helm. Milwaukee had also lost a vital front office member in David Stearns to the New York Mets.

With losses at the top, the team wasn't expected to make many splash acquisitions and Hoskins' two-year, $34 million contract was the splash.

They hoped, after he missed the entire 2023 season, that he would team up nicely with William Contreras and Willy Adames in the middle of the order. It had been working. Through 38 games, Hoskins has the team lead in home runs with nine, is second in RBI with 27 and top ten in wRC+ among all first baseman with a 131 mark.

Now he will be sidelined.

Rhys Hoskins faces yet another IL stint

On Monday, Hoskins came up limping to first base after a base hit, which resulted in a hamstring injury that will keep him out 2-4 weeks, according to manager Pat Murphy.

This is an extremely unfortunate situation for Hoskins. Not only was he playing well, but he was playing well out of the gate after he struggled to find a contract in the offseason.

Hoskins missed the entirety of the 2023 season after he tore his ACL in Spring Training. As a result, teams were weary of signing him, at least more than they would have if he was healthy.

In his six seasons in Philadelphia, Hoskins hit at least 27 home runs when he played 100 or more games. Teams would have paid for the power, but he just got unlucky going into a contract year.

Hoskins has played over 150 games three times, and hit over 30 home runs in two of those seasons. He looked like he was getting back to his old self, and that the ACL wasn't having an effect at all, but this injury will set him back for maybe a month.

It also plays an interesting role in his contract situation going forward. While it is a two-year deal, he has the ability to opt after the 2024 season and if he does stay, has a mutual option for 2026. It seemed as if he was playing well enough to be able to opt out and get something more long term, but with this injury, how he performs when he comes back will make the situation a lot more interesting for both him and the Brewers.

The race at the top of the NL Central is tight, with the Brewers holding a 1.5-game lead over the Cubs after Tuesday's action. The loss of Hoskins will be a blow to the Brewers offense going forward for the division, but as long as he doesn't miss more time than expected, he can easily contribute to the stretch run. For now, it seems like Jake Bauers will get some of the bulk at first.