Sosa will supply depth in infield

Shortstop arrives from Cardinals in exchange for reliever Romero

The Phillies’ first move ahead of the trade deadline came early Saturday afternoon, when they acquired shortstop Edmundo Sosa from the Cardinals in exchange for left-handed reliever JoJo Romero, who had most recently been pitching for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Sosa is a glove-first shortstop, who also can fill in at second and third base. With Jean Segura able to be activated off of the 60-day injured list as early as Sunday, Sosa provides some flexibility as Segura eases back into an everyday role.

Sosa now is the Phillies’ best infield defender. Over 219 ⅔ innings at shortstop this season he has five defensive runs saved, and 13 defensive runs saved over his last two seasons. He is plus-7 in outs above average at shortstop over his past two seasons.

The 26-year-old righty has hit .189/.244/.270 over 131 plate appearances this season and slashed .271/.346/.389 over 326 plate appearances last season.

Sosa has no minor-league options, so the Phillies will need to clear a spot for him on their active roster. They could move Yairo Munoz, who has a minor-league option, to clear the spot for Sosa, but once Segura is activated off of the 60-day IL, the Phillies will need to clear another spot for him.

Given the fact that the Phillies have a pretty crowded infield that’s about to get more crowded, Sosa’s best bet to get playing time is as a late-inning defensive replacement.

He could fill in for Alec Bohm late in games and Segura on days that he’s not playing, since it’s unlikely Segura will be playing every day immediately after coming off of the IL.

Sosa hits free agency in 2027. Long term, he’s a defense-first backup infielder whom the Phillies can plug in pretty much anywhere.

Romero was selected by the Phillies in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He recently was activated off of the 60-day IL following his rehab after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2021.

He had a 7.89 ERA in 21 ⅔ innings over parts of three seasons with the Phillies and a 1.50 ERA through 12 minor-league innings pitched this season.