What Rhys Hoskins’ surgery means for the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins underwent elbow surgery on Monday.

Announced by the official Philadelphia Phillies Twitter account on Monday afternoon, it was revealed that first baseman Rhys Hoskins had underwent surgery on his left elbow to repair his UCL.

Hoskins injured his elbow in mid September on an awkward play at first base, where he bent his arm back trying to field a ball thrown in the dirt. The injury created a small “gap” in his ulnar collateral ligament, which obviously required surgery to repair.

Going under the knife is never a good sign, but there are some small positives to be taken away from Hoskins choosing to get the procedure done. First, by opting to get surgery sooner rather than later, it opens up the door for Hoskins to be healthy by Opening Day. The normal recovery period for a procedure of this nature is 4-6 months, putting his return right around March-April.

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Seranthony Dominguez very infamously waited as long as possible before getting his own elbow surgery, and it ultimately cost him two full years of baseball action.

Second, the injury was on Hoskins’ non-throwing arm, which should hopefully make the recovery process a tad easier. It’s still going to be a tough rehab process, but an injury to one’s non-throwing arm is normally viewed as less severe in baseball.

Hoskins was having a spectacular season prior to his elbow injury, slashing .245/.384/.503 while knocking in 10 home runs and 26 RBIs. His hot streak carried the Philadelphia Phillies quite a bit during their midseason run, and his defense looked noticeably improved at first base.

Hoskins’ .887 OPS was the highest it’s been since his rookie season, which was a very welcome sight after his struggles at the plate in 2019. The effect that Joe Girardi and hitting coach Joe Dillion had on Hoskins were quite apparent, resulting in far less strikeouts and far more hard-hit balls.

Hoskins appeared to have really settled into that #2 spot in the lineup right in front of Bryce Harper, where he could utilize his keen eye to get on base for Harper early in ballgames. The Phillies had one of the better performing offenses in all of baseball this year, and a lot of that can be attested to Hoskins’ reemergence into an All-Star caliber talent.

The Philadelphia Phillies have a busy offseason in store for them, with a whole lot of roster holes needing to be filled. JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius are both set to hit the open market as free agents, Jake Arrieta will likely vacate his spot in the starting rotation, and of course the Phils had the worst bullpen in all of baseball last season.

Losing Hoskins to an injury at the end of this past season definitely hurt, and not having him around for offseason workouts is a tad annoying as well, but overall it’s the least of the team’s worries at the moment. With an interim GM and a whole list of roster decisions needing to be made, the Phillies likely have their attention elsewhere.