SF Giants free-agent fit profile: Philadelphia Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins
It’s the offseason again and the SF Giants need to attempt to address the elephant in the room once more: who (or which several whos) will help them with offensive production? Going into 2024, the Giants remain thin on starting pitching, offense in general, and young athleticism. They have lots of money to spend, and the clear desire to leave what happened last offseason like a distant memory in their rear view mirror. So who can they get? He may not be a six-year, several million dollar addition, but the former Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins could be an interesting grab (19th-best free agent).
Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins singles against the SF Giants at Oracle Park. (2022)
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Hoskins, 30, who will enter his seventh season in 2024, is looking for his semi-permanent landing place. After the Phillies, who normally burn brightest in September and October, flamed out against the Diamondbacks in the NLDS, the team announced star Bryce Harper would take on the everyday first baseman role, calling Hoskins’ place in the lineup into question.
Though he missed 2023 with an ACL tear he sustained in spring training, Hoskins is expected to play at full capacity next season. He has a career .242/.353/.492 with 148 home runs over six seasons, and in 2022 hit .246/.332/.462 with 30 home runs. It’s worth noting that the last time the Giants had an everyday player who hit 30+ home runs was when Barry Bonds hit 45 in 2004, though many believe Brandon Belt would’ve done it in 2021 before he was injured.
Giants President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has indicated that the organization has serious aspirations to make the team younger and more athletic this offseason, which Hoskins doesn’t necessarily fit. At this point in his career, he is likely to just be a designated hitter option, potentially providing backup to the team’s first basemen LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores at times. But Hoskins would provide the kind of offense that, again, the Giants have not seen the likes of since the early 2000’s.
That said, despite their outward signaling towards more athleticism, Zaidi has also favored contracts for players like Joc Pederson, J.D. Davis, and Darin Ruf, none of whom are known most strongly for their athleticism. So Hoskins could be exactly the type of player that this front office is comfortable chasing to bolster their very thin hitting.
Plus, Hoskins, who was born and raised in Sacramento County, went to Sacramento State, and grew up cheering for the orange and black, also fits the “local kid” demographic that Zaidi’s front office has had a inclination for during his tenure, in draft picks, trades, and free agency signings.
Giants fans hoping for a superstar may not love to hear this, but there is a world where, instead of going after long-term contracts with one or two seriously athletic players like Shohei Ohtani, Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who would provide them longevity in starting pitching or as position players, the Giants instead opt for a lot of power. In 2023, the Giants ranked 24th in MLB in runs scored, behind every other NL team except the Marlins. They could theoretically use all the help they can get.
Hoskins, along with players like Jorge Soler (13th-best free agent) and J.D. Martinez (18th-best free agent), could instead be Zaidi targets who receive shorter term contracts and provide a much needed boost to the Giants’ lackluster offense, each at DH full-time.
This would, of course, require some serious shifting to the team’s current make-up, again calling Wade Jr. and Flores’ place in the lineup into question. That prospect could be hard to justify given those players were two of the few in 2023 who could actually be counted on to get on base. But Soler, who hit .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs, and Martinez, who hit 271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs, outclass both Wade and Flores in power by not-insignificant margins.
It’s hard to say exactly what the SF Giants front office will do this early in the off-season. Try as I might, I haven’t been able to tell the future. But if the Giants do trend towards picking up several home run hitters this winter, like Rhys Hoskins, at least some fans can rest easy knowing the team has decided to prioritize scoring runs again.
