With top prospect Aidan Miller expected to join the Philadelphia Phillies in 2027, and third baseman Alec Bohm likely to leave in free agency, the infield will look different. Plus, the team should have at least one new outfielder and a handful of fresh bullpen arms. Yet, one of the biggest holes they’ll have to fill is the one left by free-agent utilityman Edmundo Sosa. Perhaps former top prospect Nolan Gorman could help solve that issue.
The Phillies have gotten more out of Sosa than they expected when he was acquired at the 2022 trade deadline. Over 392 games in red pinstripes, the Panamanian has slashed a solid .260/.302/.444 with 106 extra-base hits and 192 RBI. Add solid defense all over the infield (and left field this past season), and Sosa has been the team’s most important bench piece for half a decade.
Now 30 and making his first trip to the open market, Sosa will likely look to cash in with a multi-year contract or a starting job. Shelling out a not-insignificant amount of money on a bench player is not something a team with as many holes as the Phillies has the resources for. As a result, the club may need to look outside the organization.
Nolan Gorman could be the Edmundo Sosa replacement the Phillies need
Nolan Gorman was a 2018 first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals who showned plenty of potential but never put it all together beyond his stellar .805 OPS sophomore season. Unfortunately, he fell off a cliff after that with sub-.700 showings in the following two seasons before cratering in 2026 with a tragic .580 mark.
Considering the Cardinals demoted him to Triple-A in mid-June, and he performed even worse when he came back up at the tail end of July, the Cardinals may be willing to sell low. The 26-year-old is arbitration-eligible this winter and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz to earn $3.4 million for the 2028 campaign; he may even be a non-tender candidate.
In such a scenario, the Phillies could be interested in taking a flier on the erstwhile top prospect. Their infield could use more upside, considering the fact that $300 million shortstop Trea Turner is coming off the worst season of his career. Losing Sosa opens up a spot for an infielder on the bench, and the Phils could do worse than adding a post-hype first-rounder who’s had big-league success in the past and can handle first, second, and third base. If Miller joins the club, they wouldn't need their bench infielder to handle shortstop; between him, Turner, and Stott, they'd have three.
Of course, that plan depends upon Gorman recapturing his old form, or at least something close to it, in a Phillies uniform. The franchise hasn’t exactly earned a reputation for getting the most out of its hitters in recent years, but the club is looking to go in a different direction after firing hitting coach Kevin Long. Perhaps a coach with a new voice and a different philosophy could breathe new life into Gorman’s dormant bat.
Nolan Gorman is a flawed player, and he wouldn’t be the first top prospect to flame out after finding initial success in the Majors. However, at just 26 years old, he has plenty of time left to figure things out.
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