Reinforcements have finally arrived for the Phillies as they announced on Sunday that Rhys Hoskins has returned from the Injured List following his groin injury.
Hoskins will return to the lineup, batting fifth today for the Phillies as they fight for a series victory against the San Diego Padres.
More surprising, however, is the player whom the Phillies optioned in the corresponding move.
That is right, former-Rookie of the Year runner-up Alec Bohm has been optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley. The young third baseman struggled early on this year at the plate while his subpar defense has kept him out of the lineup in recent weeks.
Hoskins Back
The Phillies have been sputtering without Hoskins’ bat in the lineup. Since losing Hoskins, the Phillies have gone 5-8 including being swept by the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks.
Prior to his injury, Hoskins was on track to hit 37 home runs on the season which would have been the most of his career. Currently sitting at 24 dingers on the season, Hoskins will now fight to reach his career-high of 34 set in 2018.
Brad Miller has received most of the starts at first base since Hoskins hit the injured list. Batting in the bottom half of the lineup, Miller has gone 6-for-35 since August 7. Not to mention the fact that Miller ruined Aaron Nola’s perfect game hopes against the Padres (yes, I am still salty).
With a WAR of 0.0, Miller is literally the “replacement” that the statistic is based around. When compared to Hoskins’ 1.8 WAR on the year, it is clear to see just how much of an impact having Hoskins back will have on the Phillies’ lineup.
Bohm Optioned
In his first full year in the Major Leagues, Alec Bohm has struggled to stay afloat on the field and at the plate. While his offense is what is most important to the Phillies, he has experienced a true sophomore slump this season. Bohm is hitting for a lousy .645 OPS while accruing a team-leading 108 strikeouts on the season (just as many as Hoskins and Andrew McCutchen currently)
Then there’s his field work.
Alec Bohm owns a -3 OAA on the year, bad enough to place him in the bottom 12% of baseball. His 16 errors commited leads the team, a bad figure to be seen out of the “hot corner.”
While this is a bad sign for the Phillies’ young gun, it is likely not the last the Phillies have seen of Bohm this season. Most likely, as previously discussed, the Phillies are giving Bohm some time to clear his head and work on his fielding while startinf every day in Lehigh Valley. Hopefully, after a few weeks, the Phillies will call Bohm back up to find him reenergized, reinvigorated, and ready for a playoff push.
Time to Push
With Hoskins returning to the Phillies, the team can hopefully regain some traction on the offensive side of the ball. The team has only averaged 2.77 runs per game in Hoskins’ absence while only scoring two runs or less seven times.
The time is now for the the Phillies to push ahead. While there are still 39 games left to be played, time is running for the Phillies and their hunt for a Red October.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
