Brewers $34 Million Investment Could Quickly Become Expendable

The Milwaukee Brewers got an unfortunate announcement involving first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

Hoskins suffered a Grade 2 left thumb sprain and is heading to the Injured List. It was shared that in his place, the Brewers will call up recently-acquired former first-round pick Andrew Vaughn. He came over in the recent Chicago White Sox-Aaron Civale trade but has been in the minors since.

He was having a tough year in Chicago before being traded to Milwaukee. He appeared in 48 games and slashed .189/.218/.314 with five homers and 19 RBIs.

Vaughn has been better in Triple-A for Milwaukee, though. In 16 games, he has slashed .259/.338/.500 with three homers, and 16 RBIs.

Losing Hoskins is tough. Before going down, he was slashing .242/.340/.428 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs in 82 games played.

Since the trade to acquire Vaughn, there has been plenty of speculation about Hoskins' future in Milwaukee. This is because he will very likely be a free agent at the end of the season. He landed a two-year, $34 million deal with the Brewers that has an $18 million mutual option for 2026. The Brewers surely aren't expected to pick that up. Hoskins was in trade rumors last offseason and it seems like a safe bet that he will be a free agent this offseason.

Vaughn is under team control next year and is much cheaper. This opening is unfortunate, but it does open the door for Vaughn to show if he can be the first baseman for the club. If he can impress, than that could make Hoskins expendable. The trade deadline will pass on July 31st. Will Hoskins still be with the team?

More MLB: Brewers World Series? Jeff Passan Thinks Milwaukee Is 1 Piece Away