Could Rhys Hoskins return from IL in time to face Phillies?

Rhys Hoskins is on the injured list. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)

Philadelphia Phillies fans who bought tickets for the Milwaukee Brewers’ June 3-5 visit to Citizens Bank Park expecting to see Rhys Hoskins face his former team might still get their wish.

Brewers skipper Pat Murphy told the media Tuesday — including Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — after Hoskins did some running on the field that while he still needs to clear some hurdles, “it’s not out of the question that he gets activated in time for a return to Philadelphia.”

Hoskins was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain on May 14, with Murphy saying at the time that Hoskins would miss between two and four weeks. Typically players don’t hit the front end of their timeline on hamstring injuries, but we don’t know the grade of the strain he was dealing with, so it’s clear now that it was more of a minor one than what Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is currently sidelined with.

Obviously, one would think Hoskins would push to get back in time to face his former team if he could. The Brewers are also currently leading the NL Central, so this projects to be a measuring stick series. And in general, Hoskins missed all of the 2023 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee late in Spring Training, so he’s probably sick of being injured and missing time.

Whether Hoskins does ultimately return in time to play the Phillies or not, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be doing a rehab stint before rejoining the Brewers lineup. That would lead you to believe that even if he’s not yet activated, he’ll be with the Brewers in Philadelphia.

Even after missing the entire 2023 season with a torn left ACL, Hoskins landed a two-year/$34 million deal with the Brewers in free agency this past offseason. The deal includes a player opt out after the 2024 season. The 31-year-old slugger is hitting .233 with nine home runs, 27 RBIs and an .813 OPS.