The Return Timeline For Rhys Hoskins Has Been Pushed Back

[Jason Wang]

Hoskins has been out of action since early July when he sustained a left thumb sprain while making a tag at first base. He was originally expected to be back in the lineup by mid- to late-August, but the most recent updates suggest that he isn't expected to start his rehab assignment until then. 

Milwaukee did (sort of) hedge against this by acquiring Andrew Vaughn from the White Sox, and he has been playing incredibly well so far, almost suspiciously so. Since joining the team, he's slashing .375/.439/.771 across a sample of 57 plate appearances, which is way above his career norms of .250/.306/.414. It's unclear as to whether the front office truly saw something in him worth making him the Brewers' starting first baseman down the stretch, but if they just saw him as a holdover that has worked out far better than expected, they'll have to start looking for more reinforcements.

Ryan O'Hearn stands out as one of the only options at the position that could give the lineup a real boost. With a .456 slugging percentage and 133 OPS+, he's a hitter with qualities that compensate for the current lack of pop. As it stands, Jackson Chourio is the only hitter with a slugging percentage over .450 and the team's combined slugging percentage of .387 places them 23rd in MLB. 

The only move Milwaukee has made so far is to acquire Danny Jansen to serve as their backup catcher, which does make the team better, but perhaps not enough to push them past their typical first round exit. In an ideal world, Andrew Vaughn would maintain his 234 OPS+ through the end of the season but reality will likely set in before long. Will is true abilities still be enough to take the Brewers to the next level or should they seek more help before it's too late?

 

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[young guns]

Just put the loki gif here.  I can't figure it out on my lunch break.

[cragi]

cant see a 1B-only at this point. That would give us 3 on the roster. You would expect Vaughn to come back down to earth, but probably not any worse than O Hearn has been the last 2 months.

[folly412]

Just making sure he's the September call-up and we don't have to find a roster spot sooner.

[adambr2]

Seems your injury is taking longer to heal than expected, Rhys. 

[Ben Lepak]

Brace yourself for the "getting Rhys Hoskins back (eventually) is like trading for a bat at the deadline" talking points

[wibadgers23]

15 minutes ago, Ben Lepak said:

Brace yourself for the "getting Rhys Hoskins back (eventually) is like trading for a bat at the deadline" talking points

Yeah, except that he won't be back until late August/early September and he sucks.

[LouisEly]

6 minutes ago, wibadgers23 said:

Yeah, except that he won't be back until late August/early September and he sucks.

37 players have at least 200 PAs at 1B this year.

Rhys Hoskins is 16th in wRC+.

He's not the best, but he sure as hell doesn't "suck".

[brewerfan82]

From a pure offensive standpoint (because he obviously doesn't do anything to fix the black hole at SS that's been Ortiz this year) I think people are underselling the potential impact of Hoskins returning... His year this year was pretty competitive with a lot of the names people have been throwing around this week. If Vaughn can do what he's been doing, there's hope that Hoskins can come back and provide some above average offense for a month or two (and possibly some insurance if/when Vaughn falls back to Earth).

[cragi]

yeah ive also been thinking Rhys will add quite a bit to the lineup if he returns healthy. At minimum, we should have a better DH platoon situation with Yelich and Rhys or Vaughn

[Klantz27]

12 hours ago, Ben Lepak said:

Brace yourself for the "getting Rhys Hoskins back (eventually) is like trading for a bat at the deadline" talking points

Where's he gonna play? Would be a mistake to take vaughns spot at 1st and yeli is dh he could go back to outfield but then you would move collins to the bench and I wouldnt do that collins is probably better than hoskins rn 

Would be a good off the bench power bat or a fill in at 1st or dh on rest days pretty much take bauers spot I guess 

[wiguy94]

1 minute ago, Klantz27 said:

Where's he gonna play? Would be a mistake to take vaughns spot at 1st and yeli is dh he could go back to outfield but then you would move collins to the bench and I wouldnt do that collins is probably better than hoskins rn 

Would be a good off the bench power bat or a fill in at 1st or dh on rest days pretty much take bauers spot I guess 

For the Brewers sake I hope he's on the bench when he comes back as that means Andrew Vaughn has continued to hit well.

[Frisbee Slider]

[Brian]

On 7/30/2025 at 9:02 PM, adambr2 said:

Seems your injury is taking longer to heal than expected, Rhys. 

I agree LOL and Vaughn is with good company. 

Vaughn, 27, is batting .375 with a .439 on-base percentage, .771 slugging percentage, five homers and 21 RBIs in 15 games since joining the Brewers on July 7.  The only player in the major leagues with more RBIs during that stretch is Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber. 

 

[Brian]

19 hours ago, LouisEly said:

37 players have at least 200 PAs at 1B this year.

Rhys Hoskins is 16th in wRC+.

He's not the best, but he sure as hell doesn't "suck".

You eliminated 95% of the MLB by your 1st base only stat and your adjusted for park factors and league average stat.  I like my stat better, ALL of the MLB: Vaughn, 27, is batting .375 with a .439 on-base percentage, .771 slugging percentage, five homers and 21 RBIs in 15 games since joining the Brewers on July 7.  The only player in the major leagues with more RBIs during that stretch is Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber.