This story was excerpted from Tim Stebbins’ Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CLEVELAND -- Rhys Hoskins was in some unfamiliar territory this past offseason. As a free agent for just the second time in his career, he remained on the open market into February. You can understand what he was feeling as Spring Training approached.
“Typically, Jan. 1 rolls around and you start to get the itch a little bit,” Hoskins said. “So Feb. 1 hit, and I'm like, ‘Oh gosh, this itches. I need to scratch this thing.’”
Hoskins scratched his itch by inking a Minor League deal with the Guardians on Feb. 23. After an offseason full of uncertainty, he has emerged as a key veteran presence with Cleveland.
For a Guardians team sitting atop the AL Central standings, it's evident this has been a good fit.
“He's a veteran hitter that's been in the league and had a ton of success for over eight and a half, almost nine years now,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just that experience and just the human being that Rhys Hoskins is, he wants to win, and he wants to be a great teammate on top of being a very good player.
"... To have that experience in our room and be able to talk through plans and approaches and sticking to it, it's been really valuable."
Hoskins is slashing .200/.353/.407 with 10 doubles, six home runs, 24 RBIs and 33 walks with 47 strikeouts in 173 plate appearances over 50 games. He started in 40 of the Guardians’ first 64 contests this season; his playing time has been more sporadic than previously in his career.
The Guardians knew Hoskins would face an adjustment period to a new role this season. It’s something he has acknowledged has taken some getting used to as he learns how to stay ready while not seeing live pitching every day.
Hoskins has been heating up recently. He's slashing .244/.353/.561 with four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs with eight walks and 14 strikeouts over his past 15 games.
As one of only four strictly right-handed hitters on the Guardians’ roster, Hoskins' presence is crucial. Just as key is the wealth of experience he has brought to a clubhouse full of young position players.
“He came in during the spring as essentially a new guy, and right away immediately made an impact,” outfielder Chase DeLauter said. “Obviously on the field, as we see, he’s always able to get to the pull side in the air, hitting homers, doubles, whatever it is.
“And then [off the field], just being that guy to be able to lean on, whether it's needing a plan for the pitcher or even just someone to kind of shoot the [breeze] with. That's been the most impressive thing, is just seeing him be a leader and guide us toward what we want to be.”
Vogt noted how valuable Hoskins has been given his willingness to talk through plans and strategies with young guys such as DeLauter, Travis Bazzana and Kyle Manzardo. On a given day, those guys could be facing a pitcher for the first time in their career.
Who better to take feedback from than Hoskins, who has earned a reputation in his career for consistently putting together a quality at-bat?
“He plays chess in the box," DeLauter said. "He's talked through plans and stuff like that about how guys are going to attack him, about his strengths, mixing with their strengths. You can see that a lot.
"... It's cool from my point of view to be able to see, because that's something I haven't really incorporated a whole lot into my game, is that ability to just kind of think and play some chess with what [pitchers have] got. It's cool to be around and learn.”
Hoskins was on the other side of the leadership coin early in his career with the Phillies. Veterans such as Tommy Joseph, Freddy Galvis, Andrés Blanco and Carlos Santana were important figures for him.
Hoskins is now one of the elder statesmen in the clubhouse with wisdom to share. But he's also a productive player contributing to a team with postseason aspirations, and he's enjoying it.
“I think the further I've gone along in this game, the more you appreciate the good people around you,” Hoskins said. “Obviously, everybody in our shoes is trying to do the same thing and figure out ways to have success.
"But to have a close-knit group that's pretty good at opening its arms to new people who are also good people, that's a good match.”