Hoskins reveals offseason knee surgery

February 27th, 2023

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Players play with undisclosed injuries all the time. Some big, some small.

Phillies first baseman played the final two months of the 2022 season with a meniscus injury in his right knee. Hoskins stopped short of calling it a tear, but Monday morning at BayCare Ballpark he said it bothered him enough and got swollen enough at times, particularly after a significant impact with the ground, that had he had a meniscectomy in December.

Noted orthopedist Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery, the team revealed Sunday.

“Just a little clean-up,” Hoskins said. “Just a little part sticking out the back that needed to be cleaned up.”

Hoskins, who said the injury mostly bothered him when he ran, is scheduled to play in his first Grapefruit League game on Friday.

“I was told anywhere between four to six weeks [for recovery],” Hoskins said. “We’re at week 10 or 11. I’ve been fully functional since I got here. I’ve been taking live ABs, just getting work in. The plan with the training staff was get here a little early, just get your baseball feet under you before we put you back in the mix. So that, plus how much we played last year, it made sense. And I’ll probably get more reps because there’s going to be less people here in a week [because of the WBC]. It just made a lot of sense.”

Hoskins, 29, slashed .246/.332/.462 with 30 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .794 OPS and a 122 OPS+ last year. He can be a free agent after this season.

“I told the doc, as long as I can get to second on a double, score from first on a double, too,” Hoskins said.

Big Bohm power

Alec Bohm crushed a two-run home run to deep left-center field in the first inning in a 9-7 victory over Pittsburgh on Monday at LECOM Park. He also hit a hard line-drive single to right in the third.

Plenty has been made about Bohm coming to camp with about 10-15 pounds more muscle than last year. Bohm has downplayed the strength gain, but it was an organizational discussion following last season. Bohm reiterated that he is not trying to hit for more power. He is just trying to be a better hitter.

“That’s where I’m at,” Bohm said. “I’m not just trying to pull the ball and hit homers. That’s me, the line drive to right field. I don’t want to take that part of my game away at all.”

“We don’t want him to lose that [opposite-field approach],” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “But we want him to be able to pull the ball when he needs to pull the ball.”

Extra bases

José Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel each threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. “Filthy,” Thomson said about Alvarado. “Kimbrel is still building his velocity, but he’s throwing strikes. His spin is really good on his breaking ball.” … Darick Hall went 2-for-3. He is competing for a bench job. Hall primarily plays first base, but he has worked in the outfield this spring. Asked how much the roster fit (i.e. players with more positional versatility) matters if Hall hits, Thomson said, “If he swings the bat like I think he can swing, we’ll figure out the roster.”