It’s been almost five months since Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins underwent successful left knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery in Fort Worth, Texas. The Phillies, at the time, provided an approximate recovery timetable of seven-to-nine months, meaning he was likely to miss the entire 2023 season.
But Hoskins was always going to push that. He has Oct. 1 on his mind. It’s the last day of the regular season and the Phillies are in New York to play the Mets in what they hope is a tuneup before a potential three-game wild card series at home in Philadelphia.
Hoskins will not be in the lineup for that game, but he’s hoping to be back sometime after that for another Red October.
“I don’t know if I have a specific series or target date in mind,” Hoskins told Phillies Nation before Friday’s game against the Cardinals. “My goal has always been off of that original six-month mark and that was always Oct. 1. To me, anytime after that seems like it’s reachable. Obviously that is fine-tuned once we get closer to that. Depending on how I’m presenting.”
Hoskins is presenting well, but there’s still work to be done. He says there is “visible and tangible progress” and that his knee feels much stronger than it did two weeks ago. If the rehab continues to go as well as it has been so far, he’s “on track” to push for a return.
“Obviously, we have a big six-to-eight week period ahead of us where, you know, benchmarks will be made and I continue to get to push or they’re not and I have to wait until they’re made,” Hoskins said.
His goal to make it back this season seemed impossible in June. Not because others had reason to doubt he would make a strong recovery, but because the Phillies, at the time, did not look like a playoff team. Their playoff odds at the beginning of the month were at 23.3%, according to FanGraphs.
His teammates have given him hope. Since June 3, the Phillies have the third-best record in baseball at 45-26. Their playoff odds are now at 88.8% following Friday’s win against St. Louis.
Still, the idea of Hoskins returning this season is nuts. A six-month return to sport is a best-case scenario. It helps that Hoskins, if he does return, would strictly be back as a designated hitter. If he were to replicate Kyle Schwarber’s miraculous recovery to return in time for the 2016 World Series, Hoskins would be back for Game 1 of the NLDS.
Hoskins is cleared to hit off of a tee, something he’s done twice over the last week or so. He’s running two out of every three days, including sprinting one out of every three days. He works in pitch tracking to keep his eyes sharp once every three days on the HitTrax machine that’s capable of replicating the repertoire of any big league pitcher.
He’s focused on continuing to build lower body strength. Some big tests, including changing directions on his surgically-repaired left knee, are getting closer.
“Really, it’s just about quad strength and strength within the muscles around the knee is where the trainers start to feel comfortable changing directions and putting my foot in the ground to go a different way or putting my foot in the ground to stop,” Hoskins said. “Those type of things that often happen on the field.”
It took Hoskins some time to get over the initial disappointment of the injury, but he’s in a better spot now that he’s back around the team. He ventured back home to California for some time away in May, came back in early June and started traveling again with the club in July.
“I will still say there are moments where, you know, it kind of hits you in the face a little,” Hoskins said. “Just like the Little League Game, for instance. An incredible day. Such a cool game. Would love to be a part of it as a player and just get to be on the field.”
It’s a tough break for Hoskins. Just about all of his final guaranteed year with the Phillies will be spent on the bench watching arguably the most talented Phillies team of his seven-year tenure in Philadelphia.
The Phillies, at times, sorely missed Hoskins’ bat in the lineup. The lack of patience and power from the right side led to the Phillies shopping for a right-handed outfielder with a similar offensive profile at the trade deadline. They eventually passed on the opportunity to acquire another bat and it’s worked out well. Johan Rojas has made the most out of his extended run of major league playing time and the rest of the Phillies lineup has been scorching hot. They have hit an MLB-best 44 home runs in the month of August.
If that level of offensive production continues, a returning Hoskins would be a nice complimentary piece.
“It’s hard to not draw comparisons, I think, to last year’s team,” Hoskins said. “In a lot of that same way, just starting to clearly find themselves, whether that’s through a role or how or what we do as a team or how we attack certain teams. I think you can see this team is getting into a rhythm.”
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