Phillies' Rhys Hoskins to have season-ending abdomen surgery

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins recently missed slightly more than two weeks of action with what was reported to be a left groin strain and has since appeared in three games. 

Those will be his final three contests of the 2021 MLB season. 

Per Todd Zolecki of the league website, Hoskins will miss the remainder of the campaign because he requires surgery to repair a tear in his lower abdomen. The 28-year-old had belted three home runs since returning to the lineup. 

Hoskins ends the year batting .247 and leading the Phillies with 27 home runs, 71 RBI and 29 doubles. 

In corresponding roster moves, Philadelphia designated right-hander Chase Anderson for assignment and activated right-hander Zach Eflin and left-hander Jose Alvarado.

It's yet another brutal blow for a Phillies side that has dropped 10 of 14 games to fall to 63-63 ahead of Thursday evening's home matchup versus the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks (43-85). Despite this latest slump, Philadelphia still trails the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East division standings only by five games.