The Phillies’ Darick Hall lost his big-league spot when he got injured. Now he’s trying to earn it back.

For the past few months, Darick Hall has been focused on one goal: getting back where he was in spring training. The 27-year-old Phillies first baseman said it was the best he’s ever felt in his career. He was walking more, striking out less, and driving the ball. He led his team in home runs (five), batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.409), slugging percentage (.632), and was second in walks (nine). That performance earned him a spot on the Phillies’ opening day roster.

It was gratifying but short-lived. Hall jammed his right thumb sliding into second base in a game against the Yankees on April 5. He left the game an inning later and underwent augmentation surgery on his thumb in April. This was a first for him. He hadn’t gone through surgery before, and had never been through an extensive rehab. But in some ways, the left-handed hitter feels it has been a benefit.

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“I actually think it’s given me some perspective,” Hall said. “When I first came back, I didn’t have the strength and endurance yet, because of my hand. That kind of bothered me. It was humbling. But then I told myself, ‘If I need a good ball, maybe I hit a double today.’ Let’s shoot for a double. That’s kind of how I thought for a while.

“It didn’t make me want to do more than I could in that moment. And when you let yourself just be free, the power will come out.”

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Hall said his right hand is his power hand, so when he began taking live at-bats, his swing felt off. He took 150-200 swings a day while he was rehabbing in Clearwater, Fla., to build his endurance, but he has focused more on his technique since he was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley. He worked with hitting coach Joe Thurston on standing back and finding the hand rhythm he used to have. It’s a simple change but an effective one.

That work — coupled with his mindset of trying not to do too much — has led to results. The power has started to show. On June 9 in Syracuse, he hit his first home run since he was activated off the 60-day injured list. It traveled 408 feet. He hit another home run, on June 14, that traveled 418 feet — and was off a left-handed pitcher.

Hall has hit .500/.579/.625 with a 1.204 OPS over his last four games. He’s hitting .309/.402/.500 in 18 games for Lehigh Valley. He credits the Phillies’ staff in Clearwater with helping him get to this point so quickly. When he arrived at the training complex after his surgery, he was taken aback by how invested the staff was in his recovery.

It was a marked difference from the last time Hall had undergone a brief rehab stint, in 2017 for an ankle sprain.

“I wasn’t there for that long, in 2017, but it definitely felt this time like they were more active,” he said. “They were really paying attention. It didn’t just feel like you’re checking boxes. And I think that’s why the guys that are coming out of rehab assignments are actually doing pretty good.”

Live batting practice and bullpen sessions became somewhat of an event. A big group of players, coaches, medical staff, and front office staff would watch rehabbing players throw and hit. Hall took notice.

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“It was a really good way of keeping us competitive and not just thinking about the injuries,” Hall said. “I would watch Andrew Painter and Jon Duplantier throw. When I would take lives, guys would come out of the gym and just watch us hit. It was like competing with grace. Go out there give it your all, but we all know you don’t have it all right now. And that’s OK. We’re setting up the building blocks to get you back out there, into the mindset of competing and being OK with your injuries at the moment.

“And I think that was very helpful, because it allows you to give yourself some grace, too. If you miss a pitch or if you strike out, or if you hit a ball hard but it doesn’t go as hard as you think it should. It’s saying, ‘I guarantee you that tomorrow or next week, it’s going to be better.’”

It’s no secret that the Phillies are in need of power now. They were built to slug but have a .359 slugging percentage over their last 11 games. If Hall keeps hitting the way he’s hitting, he would be a natural solution to that. He was optioned to Lehigh Valley on June 19, and has to remain there for 10 days, which means the Phillies could activate him as early as Thursday.

Whether they will, at least right now, is unclear. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said recently that Hall is still progressing defensively because his injury was on his throwing hand — but Hall feels like he’s in a good spot. He started throwing in Clearwater before he began hitting.

Kody Clemens took Hall’s spot at first base when Hall was placed on the injured list and is far better there, defensively. But he has cooled down of late, hitting .204/.235/.286 over his last 15 games. Clemens has options left, so he could be sent down if the Phillies choose to go that route.

Regardless, Hall is not in a rush — and he’s not going to take any opportunity for granted.

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“I think the team is in a really good spot right now,” he said. “I don’t know what their plans are necessarily, but to me, it’s no different than in the past years where it’s like I’m just going to keep playing well … like the pieces will fall where they fall. But I think if I do what I do, it’s going to be hard for him to keep me down.

“The only thing I can do is play my best ball. Do the things that I was doing before and just re-earn what I can re-earn.”