The Phillies have reportedly made a deal, acquiring shortstop Edmundo Sosa from the Cardinals, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The return for Sosa was not yet reported, but Sosa is a 22-year-old, glove-first shortstop with strong defensive metrics, per DRS, but his bat has not come around in St. Louis, posting an OPS of just .515 in 53 games this season with no home runs and a .189 batting average. In his four-year career, he holds a .668 OPS in 470 plate appearances.
Sosa showed some promise at the plate in 2021, batting .271 with a .735 OPS in 326 plate appearances, but even with his severe downtick this year, the Phillies could see him as an upgrade over Didi Gregorius, who is in the final year of his two-year, $28 million deal and posting an OPS of just .594 with one home run on the year, while contributing sub-par defense at shortstop.
Sosa could take some playing time from Gregorius at shortstop, although Jean Segura recently began a rehab assignment and could be a candidate to move back to shortstop if Gregorius continues to falter and Sosa doesn’t find his 2021 form after a change of scenery.
At the very least, the Phillies acquired some much-needed defensive help in a potential long-game move to try and unlock more from Sosa in the coming years, as he is under contract for the next four years.