As Phillies deal with heartbreak, Hoskins and Nola face questions about their futures

It was after midnight and all the Phillies players were still in the clubhouse, saying their final goodbyes to a dearly beloved season that had died far too young.

Down the hallway at Citizens Bank Park, the Arizona Diamondbacks madly celebrated a pennant and their upcoming trip to the World Series, just the second in franchise history, an eventuality that few besides those in that room believed possible.

Most of the discussion on the losing side was last rites and postmortems, a look back at what had gone wrong in one fateful week after a season in which so much had gone right. But there was also an unspoken melancholy about the future. From all appearances, this group was as tight-knit as it appeared. And the nature of the game decrees that not all will be back when spring training convenes in February. Decisions, many difficult, must be made.

As the saying goes, it's nothing personal. Just business.

And then there are Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins.

Managing general partner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski circulated through the requiem in the earliest hours of Wednesday morning, doling out a thank you here and a pat on the back there.

When it comes to assessing what's in the best interests of the limited partnership that owns the team moving forward, assessments will be based on hard data and cold logic and as much clinical detachment as possible.

Should they bring back Craig Kimbrel, who anchored the bullpen with 23 regular season saves but also had a blown save and two losses in the National League Championship Series? Is elite centerfielder Johan Rojas closer to the offensive player he was after being called up from Double-A Reading (.302 with a .771 OPS) or the one who often appeared overmatched in the playoffs (.093 and .276)?

How will heavy workloads by lefthanders Cristopher Sanchez and Matt Strahm impact them next season? Did they uncover a hidden gem in Jeff Hoffman or did the righthanded reliever just have a career year? What to make of free agent to be Michael Lorenzen, who was acquired from Detroit, pitched a no-hitter and was largely an afterthought by October? What to do about righthander Taijuan Walker, who just completed the first season of a 4-year, $72 million contract but for the third straight year disappeared after posting a strong first half?

If Dombrowski and Co. are doing their jobs properly, and they generally do, sentiment won't be a part of the equation when these and countless other deliberations, large and small, are on the table.

And then there are Nola and Hoskins.

Both were drafted in 2014, the pitcher in the first round (seventh overall) and the first baseman in the fifth. Nola made his debut in 2015, Hoskins two years later. Both have felt the love and the lash of the hometown crowd but are now seen as beloved figures with compelling backstories. They are the longest-tenured Phillies. They are both free agents.

For a good portion of the game, they stood together in the dugout. Later, they stood just a few feet apart in the clubhouse after the stunning conclusion and had to wonder if they were occupying this particular patch of real estate for the last time.

Nola said he wasn't thinking about what his future might be, that he just wanted to spend these maudlin moments with his teammates one final time, drinking it all in. But he made it clear that he's open to re-upping.

"I hope so," he said if he envisioned himself in a Phillies uniform next season. "I'm not sure what the future holds. Every year is not the same. That's the hard part of the business."

He went 17-6 with a 2.37 earned run average in 2018 and finished third in the Cy Young Award balloting. He never matched those numbers again, which left some unsatisfied. But he was durable and even as his inconsistent 2023 season unfolded there was a growing realization that he wouldn't be easy to replace. It became standard for him to receive an ovation after he left the mound after home starts, an acknowledgment of what he'd done. He began tipping his cap in return.

Hoskins, like many power hitters, was prone to hot streaks and deep slumps. But he had a signature moment when he spiked his bat after a crucial three-run homer against the Braves in the 2022 Division Series. Then when he was lost for the season after tearing his left ACL during spring training, people began to appreciate him more. Sometimes absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

He flew in from Clearwater, where he'd been rehabbing in the longshot hope of being able to play if the Phillies made the World Series, to be in uniform Tuesday night. When the first pitch was thrown, he pointed to the "P" on his jersey.

"To be here with these guys," he explained. "I'm a sports fan. I like Game 7s. And, obviously, just to take this scene in at least one more time was also at the top of my list. I'm thankful that the organization was able to get me here."

In the end, what happens to Nola and Hoskins will be business decisions.

The Phillies are not deep in starting pitching so, for Nola, it will all come down to economics. How much money? For how many years? What other arms might be available on the market? How much would they cost? Would Nola be willing to give a hometown discount or does he want to maximize what will almost certainly be his last big contract?

The Hoskins situation is more complex. After his injury, Bryce Harper moved to first. He could return to the outfield but the Phillies have several options there. If he remains in the infield, it's hard to imagine how Hoskins fits on the roster.

"Those decisions are way above my pay grade," Hoskins said. "If there are ways for me to be back, I'm sure the people who make those decisions will find ways for me to be back. I've said this all along and I'll say it again. I would love to be back here. This is a team that has a ton of fun. We've seen that all year long. They're fun to play with. They're competitive as hell. And we have a chance to win the World Series here every year, which doesn't exist around all of baseball.

"I've grown up here. I've learned a lot of things about life here. I've learned a lot of things about baseball here. And that's not something I take lightly. I've created a lot of great relationships in this town with people who will be in my life forever."

The Phillies will do what they have to do. That's how it has to be. But because of their seniority and their accomplishments and the respect they've earned from their time in the organization, parting with Nola or Hoskins or both would come with an emotional surcharge that isn't standard in most transactions.