Rhys Hoskins’ season is likely over unless Phillies make the playoffs

Rhys Hoskins is not expected to return to the Phillies from the injured list this weekend, and his season seems likely to be finished unless the team rallies to reach the playoffs without him.

Hoskins swung a bat in Washington on Wednesday for the second-straight day, but he has yet to hit. He’s been on the injured list with a strained left elbow since Sept. 15. Manager Joe Girardi said Hoskins felt better on Wednesday than he did on Tuesday, but it would be a long shot for Hoskins to play this weekend in Tampa Bay, as the Phillies finish the regular season.

“Yeah, I think it’s really safe to say that,” Girardi said.

Hoskins had nine home runs and a 1.011 OPS in his last 89 plate appearances before injuring his elbow when tagging a baserunner in Miami on Sept. 12.

The Phillies have used four players — Jay Bruce, Phil Gosselin, Alec Bohm, and even J.T. Realmuto — to replace Hoskins. Without him, Phillies first basemen entered Wednesday with a .533 OPS and no homers in 13 games.

The team was three games over .500 when Hoskins suffered his injury and had a 91.8% chance to make the postseason, according to FanGraphs. The Phillies lost eight of their next 13 games to enter Wednesday two-games below .500 and clinging to 33.4% odds to reach the playoffs.

“I’m more bummed and frustrated more than anything,” Hoskins said last week. “We spent the last 45 games battling. We had some obstacles that we had to overcome, and to continue to be a part of the group that overcame those obstacles is something that I was really looking forward to. This has been such a weird season, something that we had to navigate as a group. I wanted to be able to finish that, to see it through on the field. There’s still a chance that I will be able to do that, but not being able to do that on such an important part of the season is tough.”