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There have been significant developments on the market for potential Chicago Cubs' target, first baseman Rhys Hoskins this past week.
The Philadelphia Phillies announced this past week that Bryce Harper would permanently be moving to the first base position. After undergoing elbow surgery at the end of the 2022 season, the Phillies opted to play Harper at first base this past season as the position opened after Rhys Hoskins tore his ACL during a Spring Training game.
With Harper now at first base and Kyle Schwarber embedded as the team's designated hitter, it would appear that Hoskins will be signing elsewhere this off-season and the Cubs will certainly be interested.
Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (Subscription Required) report that the Cubs are indeed interested in Hoskins as the team has a need at first base and for power in their starting lineup. The obvious comparison for the Cubs would be the move they made last off-season when they signed Cody Bellinger to a one-year deal with the hope of Bellinger proving that he is fully healthy and could return to his true offensive form.
In the case of Hoskins, it's just a matter of the Cubs ensuring that he is healthy as his offense has not nearly had the dips that Bellinger had while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hoskins has eclipsed 25 home runs in each season that he has played in over 100 and was well on pace to doing so in 2020 had that been a full 162-game season.
In terms of Hoskin's health, there were reports that he would have been added to the Phillies' World Series roster had the team advanced past the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship series.
There is no question that when healthy, Hoskins would be the true power hitter that the Cubs' offense lacked last season. Hoskins is likely looking for a short-term deal as a way to rebuild his value and that may be an ideal contract for the Cubs considering the larger needs they have.