Fastball

Milwaukee Brewers Might Be Forced into Uncomfortable Trade with 1B Rhys Hoskins

The Brewers are "open to trading" Hoskins, but they may have to do some things they don't want to do in order to make it happen.

Brady Farkas

Milwaukee Brewers Rhys Hoskins warms up during a workout ahead of the Tuesday Milwaukee Brewers National League Wild Card playoff series at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.
Milwaukee Brewers Rhys Hoskins warms up during a workout ahead of the Tuesday Milwaukee Brewers National League Wild Card playoff series at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. / Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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According to Ken Rosenthal of 'The Athletic,' The Milwaukee Brewers are open to the idea of trading first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is set to make $18 million in 2025.

That's not really surprising, considering the Brewers are seemingly always strapped for cash. They traded Josh Hader in 2022 to the San Diego Padres and dealt Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season to the Baltimore Orioles. Just this week, they traded closer Devin Williams to the New York Yankees.

However, as Rosenthal notes, the Brewers may need to do something uncomfortable in order to move Hoskins.

To move Hoskins, the Brewers might need to both add cash and attach a prospect.

For a budget-conscious team, the idea of adding cash and trading from the farm system is certainly not something they want to do. Milwaukee would much rather keep their system full so they can continue to cultivate the next wave of affordable young players.

Coming off a torn ACL suffered in 2023, Hoskins helped lead the Brewers to the National League Central title in 2024. He hit just .214 but had 26 homers and 82 RBI. Those are solid numbers for sure, but Hoskins still posted just a 98 OPS+ for the year, suggesting he was a slightly below average player.

Hoskins is a seven-year veteran of the Philadelphia Phillies and Brewers. Lifetime, he's a .238 hitter with 174 home runs. He hit a career-high 34 homers back in 2018 and has topped the 30-homer mark one other time (2022).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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