Rhys

Hoskins

Hoskins provided the lone run of the game for the Guardians with a solo shot off Taj Bradley in the second inning. The 33-year-old has been able to pick up eight homers over the first half of 2026, and he’s driven in 30 runs over 92 games. There’s still the occasional reminder of Hoskins’ pop, but the .180/.319/.359 slash is more indicative of what kind of player he now is. Respectfully.

Hoskins went down and got a Tatsuya Imai slider that was below his knees and yanked it way over the left field fence. That was his first home run in over two weeks as he’s been stuck in a horrible slump in June, going just 6-for-43 so far this month. The Guardians will need his bat to wake up after a third of their starting lineup all wound up on the injured list this past week. That lack of competition will likely keep Hoskins’ starting job safe, for now.

It looked like it might be a hand/wrist issue. Ramírez being the third Guardians player leaving due to injury forced the Guardians to put Rhys Hoskins in left for his first outfield appearance since 2018. Kyle Manzardo replaced Hoskins at first base.

Daniel Schneeman will bat fifth and play center field in Hoskins’ absence, allowing a DH day for Chase DeLauter. We’d say this looks like a routine day off, but when you’re hitting .190/.338/.388 in 44 games lower on the defensive spectrum as a low-risk signing, your roster spot is obviously on shaky ground.

Hoskins took Nationals lefty opener PJ Poulin deep in the second inning for his fifth big fly of the year. He struck out his final three times up in the one-sided affair. The 33-year-old power-hitting first baseman is slashing .190/.338/.388 with five homers and 20 RBI through 44 games in his Cleveland debut.

The homer was just a 343-footer down the left field line, but Hoskins needs those at this stage of his career. He’s batting .207/.353/.390 while starting about half of the time for the Guardians. He will be in there again on Wednesday with the Royals pitching southpaw Cole Ragans.

Hoskins is a part-time player right now, but with Kyle Manzardo off to the kind of start that demands a demotion to Triple-A, it’s quite possible he’ll be a full-timer at some point. His .219/.367/.384 line isn’t all that great, but that .751 OPS is 250 points higher than Manzardo’s .498 mark.

This is now the second straight game that Hoskins has started on the bench. The veteran is hitting .214/.353/.357 with a 28 percent strikeout rate and just one home run. Hoskins still has an 11 percent barrel rate, but he’s not pulling the ball as often as before. Perhaps he just needs to warm up. Jose Ramirez will DH on Wednesday with Daniel Schneemann at third base and Juan Brito at second base.

Hoskins will get a day off with Chase DeLauter serving as the designated hitter and George Valera getting the start in right.

All of Hoskins’ doubles were at least 98 mph off the bat, and he also added a 102.1 mph flyout on the day. The 33-year-old is seeing the ball pretty well to start the season, with a .259/.394/.444 slash line and two RBI. The power hasn’t materialized yet, but when it warms up in the North, the ball should start to carry a bit. He remains a solid option in 15-team leagues.