Rhys Hoskins and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a $34 million, two-year contract, filling the team’s opening at first base.
A person familiar with the move confirmed it to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the deal was pending a physical.
Milwaukee won the NL Central last year with a 92-70 record before getting eliminated by Arizona in their Wild Card Series.
The addition of Hoskins gives the Brewers another power bat for the middle of their lineup. They had Rowdy Tellez and Carlos Santana at first base in 2023, but they let go of Tellez after the season and he signed with Pittsburgh in December. Santana remains a free agent.
Jake Bauers also could play first with Milwaukee after he was acquired in a November trade with the New York Yankees.
Hoskins missed the entire 2023 season because of a torn ACL in his left knee. The 30-year-old first baseman was able to swing before the end of the season, but he didn’t play for Philadelphia even when the Phillies extended their season by reaching the NL Championship Series.
He had a $12 million, one-year contract last season and was the second-longest tenured Phillies player behind Aaron Nola, who recently agreed to a $172 million, seven-year contract to stay in Philadelphia.
Hoskins hit .246 with 30 home runs and 79 RBIs in 2022.
The right-handed slugger arrived on the scene with a flourish in August 2017, hitting 11 homers in his first 18 big league games. He finished that season with 18 home runs and was fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting despite playing only 50 games.
In his first full season, Hoskins hit 34 homers, and then he led the National League with 116 walks in 2019. Although Hoskins batted just .159 during the 2022 postseason, when the Phillies won the NL pennant, he hit a big homer in a win over Atlanta in Game 3 of the NL Division Series. The moment ended up on a mural on a corridor inside Citizens Bank Park between the clubhouse and dugout.
He was injured before last season while fielding a grounder in a spring training game.
With Hoskins out, Bryce Harper started 36 games at first base for the Phillies in 2023. Alec Bohm, who has played far more at third base, made 59 starts at first.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – Milwaukee Brewers mascot Bernie Brewer during an exhibition spring training baseball game against the Oakland Athletics Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)