What to know about Rhys Hoskins, reported new Brewers first baseman

The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly struck a deal with Rhys Hoskins to man first base in 2024. Here's what to know about the team's biggest offseason acquisition thus far.

How old is Rhys Hoskins?

Hoskins will turn 31 on March 17.

He's a right-handed hitter who's played left field in his career but more steadily first base since 2019. The California native was drafted in the fifth round in 2014 from California State University in Sacramento and has been in the big leagues since 2017.

What does the Milwaukee Brewers depth chart look like at first base?

Hoskins is a first baseman, satisfying a need for a team that didn't have any obvious options at the position heading into 2024.

Milwaukee traded with the New York Yankees for first baseman Jake Bauers in November, but though Bauers is 28 and out of minor-league options, he's only hit .211 in 412 major-league games, with a .663 OPS.

Behind Bauers, options on the team's official roster included Owen Miller and Jahmai Jones. Jones, who was acquired midseason last year and spent most of his time with the organization at Class AAA Nashville, has never played first base in the majors or minors. Miller played 35 games there in 2023, but it wasn't a natural fit for the utility infielder, who's probably more at home at second base and doesn't have the traditional power profile of a first baseman.

The more obvious fit behind Bauers is top prospect Tyler Black, but he's not yet on the 40-man roster and played primarily at third base in the upper minors. He'd also be a candidate to play at the hot corner with the big-league team.

What happened to Carlos Santana and Rowdy Tellez?

The Brewers needed new blood at first base after the top two options last year departed.

Santana, acquired midway through the season from Pittsburgh, remains an unsigned free agent. The soon-to-be 38-year-old was effective in his 52 games with the Brewers, and rumblings indicated Milwaukee was staying in touch with Santana before news of Hoskins surfaced.

Tellez struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2023 after a strong season and a half in Milwaukee, and he signed with the Pirates this offseason.

What was Rhys Hoskins' injury during the 2023 season?

Hoskins tore his ACL in a spring-training game on March 23, 2023, costing him the entire 2023 season.

Hoskins was ranging backward to field a grounder at first base when he crumpled to the ground. He had surgery soon after.

That was a blow to the Phillies coming off a 2022 run to the World Series, and he was regarded as one of the most "important, popular and well-respected players in the clubhouse" according to MLB.com writer Todd Zolecki.

The injury would presumably not prevent him from taking part in spring-training this year, but it no doubt depressed his value on the open market, where he was still among the best first basemen available this offseason.

Rhys Hoskins was beloved in Philadelphia

From raising money for muscular dystrophy to an unforgettable postseason home run, Hoskins seems to have won the heart of Philadelphia.

Standing on crutches, he received a big ovation when he appeared at the Phillies ring ceremony for winning the National League in advance of the 2023 season.

What have Rhys Hoskins' statistics been in his career?

Hoskins hit .242 with 148 homers, 405 RBIs and an OPS of .846 in 667 career games, all with Philly. That included 30 homers and an OPS of .794 in his last season, 2022.

So why did they let him go? The Phillies have moved Bryce Harper from designated hitter to first base and, with Hoskins coming off an ACL tear, it seemed unlikely the franchise would have a place for him.

His home run in the 2022 playoffs — and subsequent bat spike — will live forever

In Game 3 of the National League Division Series, Hoskins drilled a no-doubt home run off Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider at Citizens Bank Park and violently threw his bat to the ground in celebration. It was a wild, unforgettable moment, and the Phillies went on to win the series en route to the NL pennant.

Hoskins hit two homers against the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series, including a game-tying shot after Philly had fallen behind, 4-0, in the first inning.

Hoskins also hit a grand slam against the Braves on opening day in 2019.

Rhys Hoskins' wife, Jayme, bought Phillies fans beer during the World Series

Yeah, the Hoskins family is going to fit in great in Milwaukee.

Rhys Hoskins homered in Game 3 of the World Series, all the while his wife, Jayme, was buying beer for fans in the stands at Citizens Bank Park. She promised on social media that she'd be handing them out, and then she delivered.

Apparently, that practice started in the NLCS clincher, when Jayme went to the concession stand and bought 50 beers for fans as a celebration after Rhys' homer. It then became a recurring idea.

This is the most money the Milwaukee Brewers have committed to a free agent since 2018

The two-year, $34 million deal reportedly going Rhys Hoskins' way is the biggest in a while. It comes with a player opt-out, meaning Hoskins can look elsewhere if he thinks he can land a bigger deal after the 2024 season.

The Brewers haven't signed an unrestricted free agent to any multiyear deal since before the 2021 season, when they signed Jackie Bradley Jr. ($24 million) and Kolten Wong ($18 million) to two-year deals.

To see a contract of this overall dollar commitment, you have to go back to Jan. 25, 2018, when the Brewers signed Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80 million free-agent deal. That, of course, is the same day the Brewers traded for future MVP Christian Yelich.

In other more recent free-agent deals, Milwaukee signed Avisaíl Garcia to a two-year deal before 2020 ($20 million) and Josh Lindblom to a three-year deal worth $9.125 million.

How does Rhys Hoskins fare at American Family Field?

We're glad you asked.

Hoskins has torched American Family Field, posting a 1.194 OPS over nine games, with five homers and eight RBIs in 42 plate appearances.

That's obviously not a massive sample, but the Brewers were no doubt attracted to Hoskins' numbers overall against left-handed pitchers; he has a .921 career OPS and a .522 slugging percentage against southpaws. In 2022, his most recent season of baseball, he had a .945 OPS and belted eight homers in 147 at-bats.

How good is Rhys Hoskins defensively?

Statcast views Hoskins as a below-average defensive first baseman over the course of his career, with limited range and arm, but not dramatically so. The fielding bible ranked him ninth in 2022 among first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved.

Rhys Hoskins wears No. 17, and here's why that could be an interesting conundrum for the Brewers

Hoskins has worn No. 17 throughout his career, and that's a uniform number that hasn't been issued to a Brewers player since 1992, when Jim Gantner played the last of his 17 big-league seasons.

The number's quiet disappearance is a reflection of how the franchise views Gantner, who played alongside all-time greats Robin Yount and Paul Molitor during the franchise's first rise to prominence.

But Gantner, with a career .671 OPS and regarded primarily as a reliable defensive second baseman, doesn't have the stats to merit an official number retirement like his Hall of Fame teammates. So will the team end this three-decade practice and let Hoskins don the number?

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rhys Hoskins is the Brewers' new first baseman. Get to know him here.