PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On Wednesday night, two days after Rhys Hoskins came off the injured list for a groin strain, it was clear why Phillies manager Joe Girardi said the slugging first baseman is "not an every-day player for us."
Hoskins said Thursday, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia, that he won't be an any-day player for the rest of 2021, as he said his campaign would end.
Hoskins groin was still clearly not 100% — limiting his movement, especially on defense. The Phillies had already moved him back on the injured list Thursday.
In the fourth inning of the Phils 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday, Hoskins missed Yandy Diaz's ground ball up the right side of the field between first and second base. He fell in apparent discomfort, as the ball trickled into the outfield, allowing the Rays to score.
When the frame ended, Hoskins met with others in the dugout, fueling speculation that Girardi might remove him from the game.
Instead, Girardi kept him in. Hoskins later hit a game-tying home run in the eighth — his third in two games since returning from the injured list.
The importance of Hoskins' bat in the Phillies lineup is undeniable. That the Phillies have a better chance of winning when he plays is evident by their record when he doesn't.
To Hoskins credit, he was trying to play through his discomfort.
"But at what expense?" former Phillies relief pitcher Larry Andersen said on the Phillies Radio Network broadcast.
The risks are undeniable. The Phils' defense, which is suspect anyway, is probably worse with an injured Hoskins. And he was risking further injury by playing.
But the Phillies are in a pennant race for the National League East. Heading into Thursday's action, they trail the Atlanta Braves by five games with 36 left.
They needed Hoskins — a healthy Hoskins — but in his condition, he was not as agile as they need him to be on defense.
"And that's why we're trying to protect him as much as possible and to get him as many at bats," Girardi said Wednesday before Hoskins said his season was over. "He's giving everything he's got, let me tell ya. I give Rhys a ton of credit, because he's really gutting through this."