Phils acquire defensive standout Sosa from Cards

The Phillies acquired shortstop Edmundo Sosa from the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday in exchange for left-handed reliever JoJo Romero.

Sosa, 26, has played in 53 games for the Cardinals this season. In 219 2/3 innings at shortstop, Sosa has accrued five defensive runs saved, which places him in a tie for eighth among all Major League shortstops with five other players. Over the last two seasons combined, Sosa’s 13 total defensive runs saved are tied for fifth among all shortstops with J.P. Crawford, behind only Carlos Correa (22 DRS), Andrelton Simmons (19 DRS), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (16 DRS) and Ha-seong Kim (15 DRS).

“He’s really good defensively," manager Rob Thomson said. "He can play second, short, third. He’s a plus-plus defender anywhere he plays, and he can run. He’ll play a little bit against left-handed pitching. We’ll use him.”

Sosa gives the Phillies a surplus of middle infielders, especially with Jean Segura close to returning from the IL.

“We’ll see how it works out," Thomson said. "We’ve got a lot of moving and shaking to do.”

This season, Sosa is slashing .189/.244/.270 with three triples in 131 plate appearances. Per Statcast data, he ranks in the 97th percentile among all Major League players in sprint speed (29.6 MPH) and in the 85th percentile at shortstop in Outs Above Average (3). Last season, he played in 113 games for the Cardinals and slashed .271/.346/.389 with a .735 OPS, 104 OPS+ and 3.2 bWAR.

Romero, originally selected by the Phillies in the fourth round of the June 2016 Draft, appeared in 25 games over parts of three seasons (2020-22) and posted a 7.89 ERA.

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