2 Phillies trades deadline deals continuing to pay off, 1 starting to age poorly
By Tim Boyle
2) Phillies trade continuing to payoff: Edmundo Sosa for JoJo Romero
An even quieter Phillies trade from last summer was the swap with the St. Louis Cardinals which brought Edmundo Sosa to town in exchange for lefty pitcher JoJo Romero. Romero never could latch onto a roster spot with the Phillies. When the trade went down, he had pitched 21.2 innings in the big leagues and was the owner of a 7.89 ERA. He has been better with the Cardinals. The success may soon wear out.
Sosa, on the other hand, is playing much better baseball for the Phillies. He arrived last year with a lifetime .245/.318/.350 slash line. In his first 52 games with the Phillies he has hit .311/.340/.530. The Phillies landed an entirely different player than the guy in St. Louis. He was an important role player for the club last year. This season, he has been able to step up in a time of need.
The season-ending injury to Rhys Hoskins and IL stint for Darick Hall shortly after Opening Day forced the Phillies to use their depth. One of the common choices they’ve gone with is moving Alec Bohm across the diamond to first base and allowing Sosa to start at third base. It has been a remarkably productive decision. Although the original intention of having Sosa on the roster was to provide them with defense, his bat has done enough talking to secure starts.
The Phillies don’t have to worry about Sosa hitting free agency until after the 2026 season.