Cubs Free Agent Target Getting Interest From AL Team

Rhys Hoskins makes a lot of sense for the Chicago Cubs as a potential first baseman in 2024. But the Cubs aren’t the only team that would be a fit.

On Saturday MLB.com reported that the Seattle Mariners have shown interest in Hoskins, who didn’t play in 2023 due to an injury but is considered a solid power hitter.

Hoskins is just one of the options that the Mariners are exploring, per the report. But joining a team on the west coast would get Hoskins closer to home. He was born in Sacramento and then went to college at Sacramento State.

Hoskins missed all of 2023 due to a torn ACL, which happened during Spring Training. Had the Phillies reached the World Series, there was a slight chance Hoskins could have been available as a designated hitter. But, the Phillies fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After the season, the Phillies announced that their plan for 2024 was to move Bryce Harper to first base. After the Phillies opted not to extend Hoskins a qualifying offer, he went into free agency.

The Cubs do have a first-base problem and they have several ways to solve it, now that their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani is at an end after he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs could re-sign Cody Bellinger, who is exploring free agency. He can play both first base and outfielder and did so for Chicago last season as he became the NL Comeback Player of the Year.

The Cubs have been linked to New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso by trade, but nothing has happened on that front.

The Cubs have also made it clear that they would like to try Christopher Morel at first base in Spring Training. They love his bat, but his glove is a liability at other positions.

Hoskins would be a low-cost option to solve the problem. Recently, The Athletic projected that he could get a one-year, $15 million deal in free agency.

Why? He has a .492 career slugging percentage and typically hits in the middle of the order. In 2022, when he was last healthy, he had 30 home runs and a .794 OPS. He averaged 20 to 30 home runs per year.

A one-year deal, with a potential option, would give Hoskins a chance to prove he’s healthy and has recaptured his previous form — and a chance to test free agency again in 2025.