Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins had Tommy John surgery to repair the elbow of his non-throwing arm and will miss four to six months, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. 

Hoskins suffered a left UCL injury Sept. 12 during a collision at first base and did not return for the remainder of the season as the Phillies missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

Hoskins played in all but two games for the Phillies in 2019 and missed just seven the year before. When the 27-year-old was placed on the injured list, he had made 41 appearances and posted a .245/.384/.503 slash line with 10 homers and 26 runs batted in.

In 2020, the Phillies were 22-19 with Hoskins in the lineup but struggled to just a 6-13 record without their first baseman. 

The fourth-year star, who was drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round in 2014 out of California State University, Sacramento, has never been seriously injured. In September, he expressed his disappointment to The Trentonian's Matt Smith: 

"It's just very frustrating. Obviously we spend an entire offseason trying to get our bodies ready for a long season and we're presented with a short sprint of a season we're currently in. All of the obstacles that have come along this season ... we've been able to get over all of them so far, and then we have something like this happen. It's frustrating."

After the injury, Hoskins was optimistic that he would be back on the field in three to four months after a potential surgery (h/t Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). Teammate Didi Gregorius had the same procedure on his throwing arm while a member of the New York Yankees in 2018 and was out eight months.

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Saturday Matt Klentak has stepped down as general manager after five years with the organization.

Klentak will remain within the organization but will be assigned to a new role. Ned Rice will become the team's interim GM after serving as one of the team's assistant general managers this past season.

Philadelphia entered 2020 with high expectations but finished with a 28-32 record in the shortened season, one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the No. 8 seed in the expanded playoffs.

It was the ninth straight season without a postseason berth for the Phillies, including Klentak's entire tenure with the team.

The 40-year-old has been aggressive the past few years to try to rebuild the team, most notably signing Bryce Harper to a massive 13-year, $330 million deal in 2019. There were several other high-priced signings, including Zack Wheeler, Jake Arrieta and Andrew McCutchen, which have seen varied levels of success.

Among the most notable deals included the acquisition of J.T. Realmuto, which added one of the top catchers in baseball for two seasons but also lost promising young pitcher Sixto Sanchez.

Philadelphia had the fifth-highest payroll in baseball this season but still ended up far from contention.

It led to a role change for Klentak, who is signed through the 2022 season after inking a three-year extension last offseason.

Harper failed to give the general manager a vote of confidence when asked if Klentak should return in 2021.

"I mean, I'm not an owner," Harper said after the season ended, per Todd Zolecki of the team's official site. "So I'm glad I don't have to make those decisions."

All eyes will be on the next general manager to re-sign Realmuto, who will be one of the top free agents in MLB this offseason, while also adding more depth to a team that struggled with injuries throughout this past season.

The Philadelphia Phillies were among the most disappointing teams in all of Major League Baseball in 2020 and missed out on the expanded playoff field.

Despite those failures, general manager Matt Klentak is reportedly expected to remain with the team. Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the news Monday, noting managing partner John Middleton did not make a formal decision about Klentak even though a team source believes he will stay.

Philadelphia had the pieces to contend for a playoff spot with, what Brookover noted, was a payroll that came in just under the luxury tax threshold at $207 million.

However, the bullpen finished with an abysmal 7.06 ERA, undercutting a solid offense and starting staff for much of the year. The result was a 28-32 record, which was not good enough to qualify for even the eighth spot in the National League playoff field.

Klentak at least had one person in his corner, considering manager Joe Girardi advocated for him following the regular season.

"I love working with Matt," Girardi said, per Brookover. "It has been a real pleasure working with him, so I look forward to working with him next year and this offseason trying to get this thing right. He's working just as hard as the rest of us."

Klentak has been the general manager for the last five years, all of which Philadelphia failed to make the playoffs.

In fact, it did not even finish with a winning record one time during that span and hasn't done so since the 2011 campaign when it reached the playoffs at 102-60.

Still, it appears as if Klentak will have at least one more year to turn things around for the Phillies.

J.T. Realmuto will be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason, and the New York Yankees are "expected to make a play" for the talented catcher, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports.

The Philadelphia Phillies will be interested in re-signing Realmuto, but there will also be competition among the National League East, with the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves also reportedly interested.

Salisbury added he also has an "attraction" to the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, who are close to his home in Oklahoma.

The Yankees could use an upgrade behind the plate after a rough season from Gary Sanchez. The 27-year-old hit .147 with just a .618 OPS, adding 10 home runs. The two-time All-Star has been better at the plate in the past, twice hitting over 30 home runs in a season, but the inconsistency was a major issue in 2020.

Even if Sanchez improves at the plate, Realmuto would be an upgrade as a better overall hitter. He finished the year with a .266 average and .840 OPS and has a .278 career average. Throughout his career, he has been a reliable batter with a good eye who can hit home runs and also find the gaps, providing more offensively than Sanchez.

The two are also separated defensively, especially when it comes to pitch framing. Per Fangraphs, Sanchez has cost his team runs with his framing in four of the last five years. Realmuto has been a positive in each of the last four years and helped save eight runs over the full season 2019. Sanchez finished minus-6.8 in the same category.

"He's the best catcher in baseball," Byrce Harper said of Realmuto. "He's the best hitting catcher in baseball. Our guys love to throw to him if that's (Zack) Wheeler, if that's (Aaron) Nola, if that's anybody."

This type of two-way player will likely be costly on the open market, but the Yankees could benefit by adding someone of this caliber.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi confirmed to reporters Wednesday that first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who injured the UCL in his non-throwing arm on Sept. 12, is a "long shot" to play the rest of the season. 

Hoskins was hurt in a collision at first base during the team's 12-6 victory on the road against the Miami Marlins. He did not play the next day, so he could have been activated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday to finish out the final four games of the regular season.

At 27-29, Philadelphia is one game out of the last wild-card spot and 1.5 games out of the second-place spot in the National League East that is guaranteed a playoff berth.

Originally, Girardi wasn't ready to count out a return. 

"We're not ready to say that he's out for the year," Girardi told reporters Monday. "Our hope is that we'll get him back. Other guys have continued to hit through this. We basically have to see where he's at after a few days to see what's next for Rhys."

The Phillies are hopeful that Hoskins, who is second on the team in home runs and slugging percentage behind the also-injured J.T. Realmuto, will be able to factor into the final stretch of the regular season as a designated hitter at the least, according to The Athletic's Meghan Montemurro.

Girardi was unsure if the group would reach a decision on Tommy John surgery when Hoskins was evaluated by doctors last week. If Hoskins were to need to go under the knife, Girardi was hopeful that his recovery would not require as long an absence as it would if he were a pitcher, per the Daily Local News' Matthew DeGeorge.

After Los Angeles Angels pitcher/outfielder Shohei Ohtani underwent the procedure in October 2018, he was back at the plate in May. Similarly, Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres underwent surgery in June 2017 and was back to start the 2018 season. 

Hoskins has missed just nine games in his previous two seasons, and the fourth-year star was hitting .245/.384/.503 with 10 home runs and 26 runs batted in through 41 games in the shortened 2020 season. As someone who's never had to deal with a potential surgery, Hoskins told the Trentonian's Matt Smith he wasn't sure where he was in his recovery. 

"I've never had anything like this happen, so I'm not really sure what to look forward to in terms of the way it's supposed to feel," he said. "It was pretty sore (Sunday), but the soreness kind of let up as I got the treatment, so that's a good sign. Hopefully the soreness will keep subsiding and I'll get back in there."

Filling in for Hoskins, Alec Bohm impressed in his first major league start at first base Monday as the Phillies beat the Mets 4-1, closing out a 6-4-3 double play with the bases loaded and going 1-for-4 with a two-out single at the plate.

The Phillies signed first baseman Greg Bird, who played parts of four seasons with the Yankees before signing with the Rangers this offseason, to a minor league contract in time for him to be eligible for the postseason, and Jay Bruce and Phil Gosselin are also candidates to take over.

Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper exited Sunday's contest against the Toronto Blue Jays after seven innings because of lower back stiffness, manager Joe Girardi revealed.

Harper was 0-for-4 with a strikeout prior to exiting the 6-3 loss. His status for Monday's game against the Washington Nationals is uncertain. Girardi is hopeful Harper will be able to play in the series opener.

Harper has been durable of late, missing just five games during the 2019 campaign and three games in 2018 when he was still on the Nationals. He has never played fewer than 100 games in a single season.

The slugger spent his first seven years with Washington and has an impressive resume that includes the 2015 National League MVP, a Silver Slugger, a Rookie of the Year and six All-Star appearances.

Last season was his first with Philadelphia, and he slashed .260/.372/.510 with 35 home runs and 114 RBI. He has followed with a .260 average, 11 home runs and 28 RBI in 51 appearances in the 2020 campaign.

Philadelphia still has a number of players who can anchor the lineup, including Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and Andrew McCutchen, but it will be hard-pressed to replicate Harper's everyday impact from right field.

Look for the Phillies to turn toward the combination of Jay Bruce, Phil Gosselin, Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley in right field until Harper is ready to return.

With Sunday's loss, the Phillies dropped to 27-26 on the season. They trail the Miami Marlins by 1.5 games for second place in the National League, which is guaranteed a postseason berth. They do, however, hold a half-game lead in the NL wild-card race.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jake Arrieta is out for the remainder of the regular season with a strained right hamstring he injured Tuesday, manager Joe Girardi told reporters Thursday. 

It is possible he could return for the postseason should the Phillies qualify, however. 

Now in his third year with the club, Arrieta has been a disappointment in the past two seasons. The 2015 National League Cy Young winner posted a 4.26 ERA in 55 starts in 2018 and 2019. 

Arrieta's 2019 season ended in August when he had surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. 

He struggled through nine starts this season with a 5.08 ERA in 44.1 innings.  

Philadelphia added Zack Wheeler last offseason to give the team another high-end starter behind Aaron Nola. Its depth behind that pair is lacking, however, while the bullpen has been a mess. Arrieta's loss comes just days after promising young starter Spencer Howard had to go on the injured list with a shoulder injury.

The Phillies sit at 24-24 and are in contention for a wild-card spot.

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins was placed on the 10-day injured list with an elbow injury. 

The 27-year-old went down with a UCL injury to his left (non-throwing) arm Saturday. He was placed on the injured list, retroactive Sunday, so it's possible he may return soon, but that is considered unlikely. Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reported Hoskins may wind up needing Tommy John surgery, which would keep him out the remainder of the season. 

In his fourth MLB season, Hoskins has developed into a reliable power hitter in the Phillies lineup. He's hitting .245/.384/.503 with 10 home runs and 26 runs batted in through 41 games this season.

Hoskins has been mostly healthy throughout his MLB career, missing just nine games the last two seasons. He did not make an injured list stint in either campaign.

Phil Gosselin is a candidate to man first base with Hoskins out of the lineup. 

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler has added a new entry to the list of unique baseball injuries thanks to an incident with his pants.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters Wheeler will miss his scheduled start Saturday after injuring the nail on his right middle finger while putting on pants.

Spencer Howard will take Wheeler's spot in the rotation Saturday against the Miami Marlins. The 24-year-old rookie has a 5.66 ERA in five starts.

The good news for the Phillies is that it doesn't sound like Wheeler will miss extended time. They are the No. 5 seed in the National League playoff standings, but they are only 2.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants for the final spot.

Since starting the season 9-14, Philadelphia has reeled off 12 wins in 17 games.

Wheeler signed a five-year deal with the Phillies last offseason to bolster their starting rotation. The 30-year-old is having the best season of his career. He ranks eighth in the NL with a 2.47 ERA and leads the team with 51 innings pitched through eight starts.

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired relief pitchers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree from the Boston Red Sox for Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold on Friday night. 

The Phillies announced they also received cash considerations in the deal. 

Philadelphia got a potential upgrade in the bullpen with Hembree, 31, who owns a 5.59 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and three walks in 9.2 innings. Workman has a 4.05 ERA with a 1.80 WHIP to go with eight strikeouts and four walks in 6.2 innings. 

The Phillies (9-12) entered Friday's game against the Atlanta Braves three games back in the National League East and two games back of the wild card.

With the combined star power of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Phil Gosselin, a run to the postseason isn't out of the question, but the team needed to address its last-ranked bullpen (8.07 ERA) ahead of the Aug. 31 trade deadline.

It makes sense they'd look to the Red Sox for a trade partner.

Boston is just 8-18 on the year and nine games out of first place in the American League East. The team also has the third-worst run differential in MLB this season (-43) behind the Pittsburgh Pirates (-44) and Seattle Mariners (-53). 

As the club looks toward the future, adding a reliever like 27-year-old Pivetta, who has shown flashes of brilliance in the past but owns a 15.88 ERA in 5.2 innings this year, was a worthwhile gamble. And Seabold posted a 2.24 ERA in 56.1 innings across three minor league levels last year.