Brewers opting for patience with their injured veteran slugger

The Milwaukee Brewers dropped a thrilling series opener to the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday afternoon. It's a tough way to start the month of September, especially given the fact that the Brewers led 5-1 at one point in the game, and the Phillies are the closest team to the Brew Crew in the NL standings. However, after a grueling stretch of 19 games in 18 days, the Brewers finally have an off day today, their first since August 14. Yesterday's loss means the Crew ended their difficult 19-game stretch with a respectable 9-10 record.

Notably absent from the Brewers' opener with Philadelphia was Milwaukee's slugging first baseman, Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins, who spent six seasons with the Phillies, is still rehabbing from a left thumb sprain that he suffered against the Miami Marlins back on July 5.

The 32-year-old slugger played an integral role in the Brewers' three-game sweep of the Phillies back in late May; Hoskins slugged his only multi-homer game of the season against his former team, in a game that the Brewers won 17-7. Meanwhile, the Brewers' current first base duo, Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers, went 0-4 in four combined at-bats on Monday afternoon. With both Vaughn and Bauers' production slipping as of late, Brewers fans are anxiously awaiting Hoskins' return, but on Monday afternoon, the Brewers' manager revealed that they may have to wait a little bit longer.

Rhys Hoskins to remain on rehab assignment for the time being, Brewers awaiting the perfect time to reinstate him

Some Brewers fans expected Monday's roster expansion to result in Hoskins' reinstatement to the active roster, but when the team announced their roster moves, it was shortstop Joey Ortiz who was given the extra roster spot after his brief stint on the injured list. According to Sophia Minnaert, the Brewers' Emmy-winning sideline reporter, the Brewers are electing to keep Rhys Hoskins on his rehab assignment in Triple-A Nashville for a little while longer.

As Minnaert points out, the Brewers need to think about how adding Hoskins back to their active roster affects its current construction. Not only would the Brewers theoretically be adding a third first baseman to their roster, assuming both Bauers and Vaughn remain after Hoskins' return, but the team would almost certainly jeopardize their left-handed options on the bench, with the assumption being that either Anthony Seigler or Bauers would be the one to lose their roster spot to make room for Hoskins. In such a scenario, having two right-handed first basemen or having fewer left-handed bench bats could considerably impact the Brewers' late-game strategy.

However, regardless of the Brewers’ roster construction, Hoskins needs to be added to the team's active roster when he's healthy enough to do so. As previously mentioned, both Bauers and Vaughn are struggling as of late, with the former slashing .063/.231/.063 in his last 15 games and the latter carrying a meager slash line of .192/.271/.212 in his last 15 games. Hoskins can certainly outperform those numbers, especially given how well he's swinging the bat during his rehab assignment. In 10 games with the Nashville Sounds, he holds a slash line of .297/.386/.568, with two homers and four doubles.

Yes, Hoskins had a tough month of June, but he carried the Brewers' offense through the first two months of the season, and he provides veteran leadership that is rare on the Brewers' young roster. He needs to be a part of this roster as soon as he's ready. The argument for keeping Bauers on the roster as a left-handed option falls apart when you look at Hoskins' numbers against right-handed pitching this year; his OPS against righties is more than 100 points higher than Bauers' OPS against right-handers this season.

Whether Hoskins isn't yet ready to return to the big leagues, which would contradict his stat line during his rehab assignment, or the Brewers are electing to give him more rest prior to what is hopefully a lengthy postseason run, the team will have to make a decision before September 9, which is the day Hoskins' rehab assignment is up, as noted by Minnaert in the post above. But waiting for that day to arrive simply to give Bauers or Seigler more opportunities to prove themselves would be a mistake. The Brewers need their veteran first baseman back the second he's ready.