Apr 2, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Edmundo Sosa (33) reacts after his single during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Seeing Edmundo Sosa pinch hit for Brandon Marsh in with a lefty on the mound in the eighth inning of a close game in which the Phillies were trailing was not a surprise.
Seeing him stroll out into centerfield in the top of the ninth with Johan Rojas still on the bench did induce many a double take.
But that was the path the Phillies chose in their 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Rather than burn two guys for one spot, manager Rob Thomson decided to keep Sosa in the game in centerfield with his best defensive centerfielder still on the bench.
And wouldn't you know it, the first batter of the ninth inning, Tommy Edman, hit a ball Sosa's way.
Rob Thomson on how Edmundo Sosa looked in center field and whether he could start out there any time soon
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/n4Tc0IH5Cq
"The ball will always find you," manager Rob Thomson said.
Sosa also made the last out of the inning on a flyball from Kike Hernandez.
"He got good jumps, had good reactions and his routes were good," Thomson said.
Normally, a guy playing one inning of a game in April at a position he doesn't normally play is not something to make a big deal about, but it's no secret that the Phillies need more right-handed productivity against lefties. So, unless Sosa is replacing Bryson Stott in the lineup, or Bryce Harper gets the rare day off and Alec Bohm shifts over to first base, there's nowhere else in the infield for him to play against lefties.
So, could the Phillies turn to Sosa as a starter in the outfield?
"Probably not," Thomson said after thinking about it for a moment. "That's Marsh or Rojas, I would think. "But, I could see him playing some left field."
Well...
Max Kepler hasn't gotten off to the fastest start, despite looking like a world beater in spring training.
Kepler was 0-for-4 on Saturday and has started the season 5-for-25 (.200), although he as reached base an additional five times on walks.
Might the Phillies be thinking about a platoon possibility in both outfield spots?
Maybe. Neither Kepler nor Marsh have a good track record against lefties. And if they want to go with those platoons sooner rather than later, Sosa is the lone right-handed option for left field until Weston Wilson is ready to return in a few weeks.
The last time Edmundo Sosa played Center Field in a MLB game?
April 5, 2023. Exactly two years ago. https://t.co/Ri5Mdjydx0
Sosa is ready for whatever the team throws at him.
"We've been working really hard to be comfortable and feel a little confidence in those situations," Sosa said through a team interpreter. "I get a lot of repetitions during batting practice and I take every single fly ball hit to me during batting practice, I take seriously so I can work on learning these new things. That's something that has helped me."
Becoming more versatile makes an already valuable bench player even that much more useful.
The Phillies will face another righty in Tyler Glasnow on Sunday, but then they had to Atlanta for a three-game series with the Braves, and it's sure looking like they will draw reigning Cy Young winner Chris Sale in the opener on Tuesday.
It's a pretty good bet Sosa will be in that lineup, but where?
While it remains to be determined, it sounds like the outfield is in play.
