Rhys Hoskins’ Next Home? The 3 Best Teams for the Free-Agent First Baseman After Brewers Pass on $18M Option .MH
The Brewers’ decision on Rhys Hoskins was never going to be complicated. After a streaky 2025 season that included a July thumb injury and a playoff roster snub, Milwaukee declined his $18 million mutual option for 2026 and took the $4 million buyout instead, making the 32-year-old a free agent again as winter settles in.
Teams already know what Hoskins brings when he signs the line: a bat built for the middle of an order, plenty of walks, and the type of power that doesn’t need explaining.
His .237/.332/.416 line and 12 home runs in 90 games last season don’t scream breakout, but they don’t bury the calling card either.
He strikes out plenty, but he also drags first-base pitching plans along for the ride by taking his walks and hunting pull-side air. If Hoskins is going to rebuild value, these are the three teams that could actually make it matter.
1. Boston Red Sox
Boston has been one of the few markets where Hoskins’ name has landed with genuine logic instead of hopeful pencil-sharpening.
Fenway Park remains a playground for righthanded hitters who lift the ball and hunt the pull side, and Hoskins has lived in that swing plane for years.
With Triston Casas coming off repeated injury struggles and Boston finishing 2025 in the near bottom at first-base WAR, Hoskins offers a short-term offensive lift without blocking the long lane.
2. Minnesota Twins
Minnesota has quietly built a template for this tier of free agency. Over the past few winters, they’ve patched first base with short contracts for veteran sluggers like Joey Gallo, Carlos Santana and Ty France. Hoskins is cut from that exact cloth.
Target Field plays closer to neutral than Milwaukee’s old lanes, the pressure is lighter than a contender’s glare, and Minnesota needs power without getting tangled in five-year strings. For the Twins, it’s a manageable ticket that raises the lineup’s floor.
3. Philadelphia Phillies
Any Hoskins-Phillies reunion talk starts sentimental, but the baseball logic is still there if the Phillies’ winter priorities drift toward other big spends.
Citizens Bank Park was built for his pull-side power, and his 2022 postseason run with six October home runs, the famous bat slam against Atlanta is still the kind of moment Philly fans won’t forget, even if front offices look forward, not backward.
If Philadelphia shifts Harper back toward DH or outfield in the evolving roster puzzle, Hoskins becomes an incentive-laden, one-year bat that brings familiarity without blocking the future.
