Phillies activate key player for important stretch run

Edmundo Sosa brings a boost to the Phillies' lineup and defense

Sosa, 29, has been one of the Phillies' unsung heroes, not only for this season, but since he came over to the Phillies after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022 for reliever JoJo Romero. 

Since then, Sosa has been a Swiss-Army Knife for the Phillies, playing all over the infield and even center and left field. Having the best season of his Phillies career, Sosa is back in the lineup on Wednesday, batting sixth and playing shortstop. 

Known as a plus defender, Sosa has a defensive runs saved of 26 at shortstop (91.0 innings), 21 at second (232.1 innings), and ten at third (238.2 innings). This level of defense will help the Phillies, especially when they’re in the playoffs. 

Sosa will be invaluable in the playoffs 

Sosa has primarily been used off the bench this season, but saw his playing time increase once manager Rob Thompson felt the need to platoon Bryson Stott at second after a rough stretch. Luckily, Stott has bounced back and is back to the player he was, so playing time for Sosa may be limited, especially when Trea Turner returns. 

Even though he won’t be an everyday contributor for the playoffs, Sosa will still have an impact late in games when he’s called upon as a defensive replacement, or even a pinch hitter; as he's shown to be a solid hitter in the latter innings, having a .357 average and .881 OPS in 28 at-bats in the eighth, and a .286 average and .747 OPS in 21 at-bats in the ninth.