Rhys Hoskins' strong play validating Guardians' biggest offseason decision 

For most of the offseason, the Cleveland Guardians sat on the sidelines. While they spent some money to add to their bullpen, their lineup went largely untouched despite the fact they finished the 2025 season with a .226 batting average — the worst batting average for a postseason team in a 162-game season. 

But they finally made a move to address that issue right at the buzzer by signing Rhys Hoskins to a minor league contract that eventually became a one-year, $1.5 million MLB deal. 

While it wasn’t the kind of marquee signing that Guardians fans had been begging for, it took all of two weeks for it to turn into the exact kind of signing the Guardians needed. 

Hoskins entered play on Friday with a .259/.394/.444 slashline with two RBI and a team-high five doubles despite being a part of the Guardians’ platoon at first base. 

Rhys Hoskins’ has helped validate the Guardians’ quiet offseason 

After going hitless through the first four games he played in during April, Hoskins had his first signature game with the Guardians on Wednesday when he went 3-for-4 with three doubles, a walk and an RBI in Cleveland’s blowout win over the Royals. 

Although Hoskins’ fit on the roster was never in question thanks to the right-handed pop he could bring, the biggest point of consternation among the Guardians’ fanbase was the fact that he and Stuart Fairchild were the Guardians’ only offensive additions. 

But that decision has looked like the right one so far thanks in large part to Chase DeLauter’s record-setting start to the season (four home runs in first three games) and another solid start from the team’s pitching staff. 

The biggest storyline to follow with Hoskins will be how he’s used going forward. Although the initial line of thinking was that his time would be evenly split across first base and designated hitter, all but one of his nine appearances have come manning first alongside Kyle Manzardo. 

While Manzardo is hitting just .086 on the season, he’s been one of the unluckiest hitters in baseball. He should still be in the lineup, and Hoskins’ strong start makes that a bit easier to stomach.  

Even though Hoskins’ performance this year has obviously come in a small sample size, it’s been him at his best. He entered play on Friday in the 98th percentile in chase rate (15.1%) along with being in the 94th percentile in barrel rate (20%) and the 93rd in walk rate (18.2%). 

He rode that skillset to plenty of success early in his career with the Phillies suffering an ACL injury that hampered him during his time with the Brewers. 

Perhaps the most impressive part about the Guardians’ strong start to the season is that it’s come at a time when the Guardians haven’t gotten a ton of production from some of the bigger names in the lineup. But Hoskins seems ready to pick up that slack until they’re able to turn things around.