ARLINGTON – The Brewers reinstated first baseman Rhys Hoskins from the injured list on Tuesday, giving them three first basemen and the challenge of how to get the most out of all of them.
With his left thumb healed and his long Minor League rehab assignment expiring, the Brewers showed one way they’ll use the 32-year-old veteran in a 5-4 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field. Trailing by two after Texas answered Milwaukee’s three-run rally in the fifth inning with four, Milwaukee sent Hoskins to pinch-hit for shortstop Joey Ortiz with two outs in the sixth representing the tying run.
It didn’t have the desired result. Hoskins’ bat exploded when he offered at a Luis Curvelo sinker and sent a pop-up behind home plate, one of the few baseballs the Brewers didn’t hammer on Tuesday night. Rangers catcher Jonah Heim found it just in time to make a sprawling catch, and the Brewers – even with a pinch-hit homer in the ninth from their other backup first baseman, Jake Bauers – were headed for a second straight defeat against a Texas team making a late-season playoff push.
“If we hit the ball hard like we did tonight – line drives, hard in the air,” said Hoskins, “we’re going to win a lot of games like that. But the way the game goes like it did tonight, you’re not guaranteed anything.”
“I was losing my mind,” Bauers said.
It was one of those frustrating games. The Brewers saw four fly balls with exit velocities north of 99 mph go for outs, including Christian Yelich’s game-ending, 103.2 mph flyout with the tying run on base, and a would-be, two-run home run from Brice Turang that left the bat at 104.5 mph in the fifth, but was pulled back by Rangers center fielder Michael Helman, who promptly smacked a game-tying, two-run homer off Milwaukee spot starter Chad Patrick to key Texas’ comeback. Helman has seven RBIs in the past two nights.
Taming the Rangers’ surprise series star is a priority for Thursday, but looking beyond that the Brewers will seek ways to unleash Hoskins, whose return required the Brewers to option infielder/catcher Anthony Seigler to Triple-A Nashville, leaving Andruw Monasterio as the lone backup infielder on the active roster. That probably means some infield opportunities are ahead for Isaac Collins, who has mostly played outfield this season but finished Monday’s loss to the Rangers at third base in his third, brief infield appearance this season.
Besides the defensive ramifications, there is the matter of distributing at-bats at first base, which Andrew Vaughn has taken hold of since Hoskins went on the IL in early July, hitting .308/.370/.503 in his first 51 games with the Brewers. If Hoskins or Vaughn batted left-handed, it might be an easier move. But even there, the Brewers have gotten great production this week from the left-handed hitting Bauers, who went 6-for-12 with six RBIs during the sweep of the Pirates, plays great defense at first base and, unlike Vaughn or Hoskins, can also play the outfield corners.
So, how will all three players fit together?
“I look at it as three offensive players,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “That’s kind of the way in September, even though the rosters don’t expand the way they used to. I think Rhys is a big part of this from a leadership standpoint, from an experience standpoint.”
Bauers, too, is a “sneaky-important part of this,” Murphy said. But Vaughn has been “so wonderful,” Murphy said, that he demands the bulk of at-bats. So the Brewers will pick their spots for the others, as Murphy explained during a meeting with Hoskins on Monday.
“And that was the conversation,” Murphy said. “We’ve got to thread the needle.”
Hoskins, 32, was hitting .242/.340/.428 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs in 82 games this season before suffering a left thumb injury on a tag play at first base on July 5 in Miami. He’s earning $18 million this season and has an $18 million mutual option for 2026 with a $4 million buyout.
“They’re probably going to roll with the guys that have been out there. They should,” Hoskins said. “My role will be a little bit more limited, at least from what I’m accustomed to. But I told Murph and those guys I’m ready for whatever you have for me.
“I think I’ve been around long enough and am professional enough to be ready when my number is called. I’m prepared to help the team win every day, and we’ll see when that happens.”
He cited Bauers as one of the players who has set a good example for how to prepare to pinch-hit, which is one of the hardest jobs in baseball. Hoskins has only 23 pinch-hit plate appearances in his eight seasons – he’s 4-for-20 with two doubles, two sacrifice flies and four RBIs in those spots.
When Tuesday’s opportunity arrived, Hoskins was ready.
“You have to anticipate some of the situations, and I’ve been here long enough to have some sort of feel about what ‘Murph’ and [associate manager] Rickie [Weeks] like. Great spot. Obviously, it didn’t work out, but hopefully I find myself in those situations a lot.”
On rehab, Hoskins hit .275/.371/.471 in 62 plate appearances over 14 games.
“I feel great, physically,” he said. “Normal, really. I got [51] at-bats down there, which was definitely more than I was anticipating. I would say I felt ready and fine after 20 or 30. But more reps are always better. I’m ready to join these guys and help to finish this thing strong.”