Did Phillies prove Rhys Hoskins made the wrong choice leaving for Brewers?

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins made his return to Philadelphia to play against his former team, the Phillies, early this week. Hoskins and the Brewers were swept, but not before the Milwaukee first baseman received a standing ovation three times over at Citizens Bank Park.

Given the end result of the series, did Hoskins make a mistake? While the final scoreline certainly told a story about these two teams, it does not define Hoskins career. Rhys missed the entirety of the 2023 season with a knee injury, and thus entered free agency looking for a starting job at a position the Phillies no longer had available. Bryce Harper switched positions late last season to first base. With Hoskins hurt, Harper was the perfect replacement.

At one point, Harper said he never believed he would move out of right field. However, that quickly changed when Harper had to recover from Tommy John surgery. He doesn't have the same arm -- specifically when it comes to throws home -- as he used to.

Did the Phillies prove Rhys Hoskins wrong?

Hoskins return home didn't provide as many answers as some might like. Hoskins got the closure he desired, but that's about it.

“The ending didn’t match the rest of my time here, and that’s something that I’m looking forward to kind of getting. I don’t know if closure is the right word -- but just kind of moving on from that chapter,” Hoskins said. “I think tonight will be a nice start for that.”

Hoskins is not the player he once was -- heck, he's not remotely good enough to beat out Harper at first base. Nonetheless, Hoskins was able to secure a two-year, $34 million contract from the Brewers in free agency despite missing the entirety of the 2023 season. If all goes well, Hoskins will not reach free agency until after the 2026 season.

The 31-year-old is off to a complicated start to the season, slashing .238/.337/.337 with an .807 OPS through 43 games. The Brewers have a five-game advantage on the Cubs in the NL Central through 62 games less than a year after losing Craig Counsell to the north side of Chicago.