Phillies avoid arbitration with Rhys Hoskins

It’s arbitration season! Much like Groundhog Day or St. Patrick’s Day, it’s a day on the calendar that just seems to sneak up on you, catching you unawares. Sure, you knew that it was due soon, but already? Surely it slipped your mind.

For the Phillies, that means trying to sign players for 2023 and today, they’ve taken care of a fairly significant piece of budgetary business, securing a number for Rhys Hoskins for the coming year.

Considering MLB Trade Rumors and they’re eerily accurate arbitration projection formulas, this number the team and player agreed to comes in a little low, MLBTR saying Hoskins would get $12.6 million in 2023. Considering the minimum salary for 2023 is ~$720,000, you could think about it as the team giving themselves some flexibility to offer someone else a minimum contract to help the team. That’s not nothing.

Of course, the next conversation to have with Hoskins is about a contract extension, something some fans would rather not think about. Whether you like it or not, outside of Shohei Ohtani, Hoskins has probably positioned himself as the premier hitter on the free agent market next offseason. While he might want to stay in Philadelphia, there is no doubt there will be suitors for him next season should he open his services to highest bidder. For now, he’s on the Phillies and will begin the year as the first baseman yet again.