The big power bat is leaving the National League East.
Slugger Reece Hoskins is leaving the Phillies and joining the Brewers on a two-year, $34 million contract. Confirmed by Jon Heyman of the Post..
The contract includes an opt-out after one year.
Dating back to his rookie season in 2017, Hoskins emerged as a home run threat, hitting 18 home runs in 50 games in 2017 and finishing fourth on the National League Rookie of the Year list.
Since then, Hoskins has hit at least 27 home runs in a full season, most recently hitting 30 long balls en route to the Phillies' run to the World Series in 2022.
Braves in the 2022 NLDS. USA Today Sports
His three-run home run off the Braves' Spencer Strider in Game 3 of that year's NLDS was one of the pivotal moments of that series, and one of the most memorable of the entire postseason when he threw down his bat in glee. It became something that remained.
Hoskins, 30, hit a high in that year's playoffs with six long balls, but things reached a low point when he tore his left ACL while fielding a grounder in spring training.
He missed the entire 2023 season after undergoing surgery.
The Phillies left open the possibility for him to return during last year's playoffs, but he ultimately did not play.
Hoskins provides the Brewers with an elite home run threat with 148 career home runs and an .846 OPS, but his defense has always been a question mark.
In 2022, he ranked in the 4th percentile in all of baseball with minus-9 outs below average. According to Baseball Savant.
First base was an offensive black hole for the Brewers last year, with players at that position posting a combined slash line of .231/.292/.389 in 2023.
