PHILADELPHIA — Should the Phillies survive one playoff round, then another, then a third, then the chances have begun to grow that they will receive a strong roster boost for the fourth.
Don’t rule out a return this season of Rhys Hoskins, says Rob Thomson.
“No,” the manager said before a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. “We’ve got a long ways to go, but he sure looks good.”
Hoskins tore knee ligaments late in spring training and has not played all season. Though the first baseman and the Phillies have maintained hope that a return was possible, it never seemed as real as it had by Tuesday.
“He took BP on the field today,” Thomson reported. “He’s still going through some tests, but he is up to 75 or 80 swings a day. But it looks good. He’s starting to get some power back and sometimes that takes some time.
“He probably hit seven or eight balls out of the ballpark today, which is more than he has so far. So that’s good.”
Thomson had previously confirmed that the surgically repaired Hoskins would not be active early in the postsesason, but was willing by Tuesday to set the World Series — “if we were to get there” — as a reasonable target.
Hoskins, 30, supplied 30 home runs and 79 RBIs last season. He had four home runs and seven RBIs, in the five-game NLCS triumph over San Diego.
“He’s in really good spirits and he feels good about where he is at,” Thomson said. “He ran the bases today. And as you know, he’s the leader and a great sounding board for these guys. He has great knowledge and I love having him around.
“He is really in a good frame of mind right now.”
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Michael Lorenzen registered his first save of the season, and the 15th of his career, in a Sunday triumph over the Mets.
The Phillies are deep enough in starting pitching to be flexible, so the right-handed veteran stressed Tuesday that he would be fine in whatever role Thomson has in mind for the playoffs. Yet Lorenzen, who is unsigned past this season, also made it clear that he has no interest in any long-term bullpen role.
“No,” he said, laughing. “I want to be a starter.”
While he is valued for his ability to not only start and relieve but, in the past, play a little outfield, Lorenzen was an All-Star starter in Detroit this season and, shortly after arriving in Philadelphia at the trade deadline, uncorked a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals.
For that, he elaborated on his stance: “I don’t ‘want’ to be a starter. I ‘am’ a starter.”
Just the same, he will accept any postseason role.
“I am in a position to try to help this team win,” he said, “no matter how that may be.”
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After a choppy season at the plate, J.T. Realmuto entered the game Tuesday with a six-game hitting streak and six RBIs in his previous three outings.
Thomson knows he will have to decide whether to risk disrupting that late-to-arrive rhythm at the plate or to give his catcher some potentially valuable maintenance days in the final week of the season.
“It’s a balance, right?” he said. “I wouldn’t want to overplay him and potentially get hurt on a foul ball or something. But at the same time you have to keep him sharp. So you have to keep that balance. I do think, if we were to clinch, we would give him a couple of days off to be sure.”
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Orion Kerkering has had one major-league pitching appearance, but it likely was enough to cement him in the Phillies’ postseason plans.
Thomson hopes the right-hander will pitch Wednesday and then once more on the weekend, but he has already about made up his mind.
“That will be enough for me,” he said. “And from what I saw the other night, that’s pretty much enough.”
A 2022 fifth-round draft choice, Kerkering stormed through the minor-league system, making stops in Clearwater, Jersey Shore, Reading and (briefly) Lehigh Valley before joining the Phillies last week. He has shown he is physically ready to pitch anywhere. Thomson is certain he will be emotionally fit too.
“Yeah,” he said. “From what I saw the other night, he wasn’t even sweating. Right? He didn’t look like he was affected by anything.”
Kerkering struck out two — both on what already has become his legendary slider — in his perfect eighth inning Sunday.
“You never know how anyone is going to react in this atmosphere,” Thomson said, motioning toward the Citizens Bank Park seating area. “But that’s with anybody.”
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NOTES >> The Phillies have dispatched batters Rafael Marchan, Darick Hall, Weston Wilson and Kody Clemens, along with pitchers Andrew Bellatti, Connor Brogdon, Nick Nelson and McKinley Moore to Florida, keeping them fresh in case of a postseason injury. … Recently waived Drew Ellis accepted a minor-league assignment. … Ranger Suarez (4-6, 3.89) and Bucs righthander Johan Oviedo will start Wednesday night at 6:40 … Zack Wheeler 13-6, 3.64) is scheduled to pitch Thursday at 6:05.
