Bryce Harper will be Phillies full-time first baseman

Rhys Hoskins’ unforgettable tenure with the Phillies has come to an end.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters on Wednesday afternoon at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., that Bryce Harper will be their everyday first baseman in 2024 and beyond, likely ending Hoskins’ time in Philadelphia. Hoskins tore his left ACL in late March, leaving the Phillies without a first baseman. Harper volunteered to play there, and he performed well at the new position.

“We decided we’re going to play him at first base,” Dombrowski said. “He’s happy to do whatever we wanted him to do. He said he’d play first or the outfield. He feels great. But the more we talked about it internally we liked the idea of playing him at first. We think he’ll develop into a Gold Glove first baseman. He’s committed to doing that.”

Dombrowski and Harper had a long discussion on Friday at Citizens Bank Park. Dombrowski said he called Hoskins on Sunday to tell him about the team’s decision.

“We look at Bryce being our first baseman, we look at [Kyle] Schwarber being our DH the majority of the time,” Dombrowski said. “So, I did talk to Rhys on Sunday, let him know about the situation. I gave him a call and just explained the situation. Because, as you know, we absolutely think the world of him and [Hoskins’ wife] Jayme. They’re just wonderful people. They’ve done so much for the community. We don’t want to 100 percent close any doors, but I’d say when we look at the situation … he understood. If he’s not back with us, we wish him nothing but the best. But he’s fantastic.”

Dombrowski said Harper will play only first base next year and that there are no plans to occasionally play him in right field.

“He’s in a position where we think for his future it’s a great thing to do as he starts to age,” he said. “He can gladly go to the outfield, but he’s committed to being that type of guy over there at first base.”

Harper finished the regular season at +2 outs above average, according to Statcast. That was tied for the third-highest OAA among Phillies first basemen since 2016. He finished with 1 defensive run saved, according to FanGraphs. Harper’s ability to play first allowed the Phillies to move Schwarber to DH, Brandon Marsh and Cristian Pache to left field and Johan Rojas to center field.

“We think it makes us more athletic,” Dombrowski said. “We’re in a position now where all of a sudden we’ve got an athletic infield. It opens up one of the outfield spots. … We’re not going to anoint [Johan] Rojas our center fielder because of the offensive aspect, but we think he’s very close. So it really puts us in a position for the future where we’re in a good spot.

“We’re really happy with the way our club … really, from a positional player perspective we’re pretty well set at this time. I’m not saying that we can’t try to get better, not that you’re not open…