A trainer checks on Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins after he was injured fielding a ground ball during the second inning of Thursday’s spring training game in Clearwater, Fla.
Chris O’Meara | AP photo
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee Thursday fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time.
The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery or exactly how long the slugging first baseman might be sidelined.
“It’s concerning. I’m not sure what it is yet, I haven’t heard anything,” manager Rob Thomson said on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast during the game. “They’re checking it out now and we’ll have an update after the game, I’m sure.”
In the top of the second inning, the Tigers’ Austin Meadows lined a ground ball toward first base. Hoskins broke back to field it, but took an awkward step and fell to the ground, clutching his left knee in obvious pain.
Manager Rob Thomson jogged out to see him with the Phillies’ training staff and the EMS crew. His teammates on the field gathered around him, too. Kyle Schwarber helped Hoskins on to a cart that transported him off the field.
Before Hoskins departed, a few players, including Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott, shook his hand.
“He was (in a lot of pain), especially initially,” Thomson said. “He’s had some knee issues in the past so maybe it’s more fear than pain. Not sure. But they said he was walking around in the clubhouse afterwards, so that might be a good sign.”
The timing is brutal for Hoskins, who underwent meniscus surgery in December on his right knee. A few weeks ago, Hoskins described his right knee as a “non-issue” and said it wouldn’t delay his start to the season.
This season was bound to be a pivotal one for Hoskins, who just turned 30 on March 17. He avoided arbitration with the Phillies in the offseason, settling at $12 million, but will be eligible for free agency after the season.
He has been a part of the Phillies organization since 2014, when he was drafted in the fifth round. He has hit .242/.353/.492 with an .846 OPS over six seasons with the Phillies.
“He does (mean more than the numbers),” Thomson said. “He’s so good in the clubhouse. He’s so calming out there. He’s big for us, he really is.”
While the exact length of Hoskins’ absence is still unknown, it will certainly have ripple effects on the 26-man roster. For one, it will open up the bench competition. The Phillies’ have five players vying for two spots: Scott Kingery, Dalton Guthrie, Darick Hall, Jake Cave and Kody Clemens.
Clemens has 213 innings worth of experience at first base, between the big leagues and the minor leagues. Guthrie and Cave don’t have any experience there.
Kingery can play comfortably at third base if needed, which the Phillies could do if they wanted to move third baseman Alec Bohm to first base. But they may not be inclined to do so, since Bohm has played in just one game at first base this spring, and has been making strides at third with infield coach Bobby Dickerson.
Hall has the most experience at the position out of all the bench candidates, playing 4,771 2/3 innings there throughout his minor league career, and 39 innings last season in his rookie year with the Phillies. Hall, who has been used primarily against right-handed hitters, has put in work this offseason on evening out his left-right splits, but could split time at the position with Bohm in the meantime.
Hall seemed to be a front-runner to make the roster regardless, to fill in for Bryce Harper while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Hall is hitting .319/.385/.681 this spring with a 1.066 OPS. All five bench candidates have options, so the Phillies have some flexibility.
Another option still in major league camp, is infielder Weston Wilson. Signed to a minor league contract in January, Wilson has played 1,352 1/3 minor league innings at first base and has shown some power this spring. He’s hitting .294/.385/.529 with a .914 OPS through 18 spring training games. He would have to be added to the 40-man roster.
MORE INJURIES
(AP) — The Phillies aren’t the only NL pennant hopeful dealing with injuries to some pretty important players.
St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (groin) and Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias (inflamed shoulder) will begin the season on the injured list.
Wainwright was in line for his seventh opening day start in what’s slated to be his final season. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters Thursday before St. Louis’ spring training game against the New York Yankees that Wainwright could miss several weeks.
The 41-year-old apparently strained his groin in a workout before Team USA lost to Japan 3-2 in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday. Wainwright went 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA over eight innings to help the U.S. reach the final.
“We’ll continue to evaluate over the next few days but no timetable at the moment,” Marmol said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There is a spot in the rotation now open, and we’re going to have to sit down and make sure that we’re not missing anything that goes into that.”
With Iglesias, the Braves said an MRI showed the right-hander has “low-grade” inflammation and will not throw for seven days. Iglesias was expected to move into the closer’s role after Kenley Jansen signed with the Boston Red Sox. Iglesias, 33, had a combined 17 saves last season for the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta.
WECOME BACK
(AP) — The Cardinals welcomed back to camp Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, who played for Team USA, along with Lars Nootbaar, an outfielder for Team Japan. The Cardinals posted a picture of them stretching with the caption: “What do you think they are talking about!?”
Goldschmidt and Nootbaar were in the starting lineup Thursday.
Yu Darvish returned to the San Diego Padres after helping Team Japan to a WBC title. The right-hander was in Japan for the early stages of the tournament and then in Florida for the final rounds.
Darvish started one game and came out of the bullpen twice in the WBC. He also was part of the 2009 squad that won the championship.
He said he was “very appreciative” of the Padres letting him spend his preparation time with the Japanese team.
“They trusted me going there,” he said through an interpreter Thursday in Peoria, Arizona. ”(It was) a bit tough going there but the beautiful thing about that was that you get to spend time with those young up-and-coming pitchers back in Japan who are very talented and get to know them and get to be friends with them, too. It was a very meaningful time.”
Next step, stretching out his arm. He’s not used to coming out of the bullpen: Of his 242 major league appearances on the mound, all have been starts.
“Team Japan was trying to win the whole thing. I wasn’t able to build up as I would in a regular spring training,” Darvish said. “I can’t overthink this. We’ll see how I feel as we move along. Try to get back to what I usually do.”
Darvish said he would talk with manager Bob Melvin about when he would be pitching. Darvish is looking to go “about four innings” in any tune-up appearance ahead of the regular season, which begins March 30 when the Padres host Colorado.
SHIFT WORK
(AP) — Bryan Cranston (you know, Walter White, from “Breaking Bad”) wants to “get that shift … outta here!”
The actor appeared in an ad for Major League Baseball in which he watched baseball clips and touted how the game has evolved with the new rule changes.
“This is the game we all want to see,” Cranston said in the commercial.
The pitch clock has sped things up, with spring training games averaging 26 minutes less than last spring. It’s sped things up on the base paths, too, with stolen base attempts going from 1.6 per game in spring training games last season to 2.4 this spring.