Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski on Friday said “it’s clear” that first baseman Rhys Hoskins has a torn left ACL and is expected to be out for the season, but that the slugger will seek a second opinion.
“He will need to have surgery,” Dombrowski told reporters. “I would be shocked if he doesn’t. And that will put him out … for the season. That’s what we’re planning.”
Dombrowski estimated a rehabilitation period of more than seven months.
Hoskins, who hit 30 home runs and had 79 RBIs last season, suffered the injury while fielding a grounder in a spring training game Thursday.
He was backing up to play a chopper on Thursday when the ball popped out of his glove. Soon after, he fell to the ground and clutched his left knee. Teammates gathered around him before he was taken off the field.
Dombrowski on Friday said that Darick Hall would be called upon to fill the void at first base as a result of Hoskins’ injury.
“I do feel comfortable to say that we like Darick Hall a lot,” Dombrowski said. “We feel that he’ll get the majority of the playing time at first base. … We think he’s ready to step up and be a big league player.”
The 27-year-old Hall, who played in 41 major league games last season, has 5 home runs and 11 RBIs in spring training to go along with a .319 batting average entering Friday’s games. He hit .250 with 9 home runs and 16 RBIs in 41 games for the Phillies last season.
“He’s a good solid first baseman,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a big guy. He catches the ball. He has a good arm. He’s always had power. We felt comfortable even last year that he could play at the big league level.”
Dombrowski said the Phillies also have the option of having third baseman Alec Bohm move across the diamond and then having Edmundo Sosa or Josh Harrison play third.
“I think we’re open to a lot of things at this point,” Dombrowski said. “[Hoskins’ injury] just happened last night, so we haven’t even had a chance to talk to our players about some of the scenarios that could exist.”
Hoskins’ injury was another blow for the Phillies, who will be without top pitching prospect Andrew Painter for another few weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right elbow. Slugger Bryce Harper also isn’t expected back until around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com