Phillies Trade JoJo Romero For Edmundo Sosa

The Phillies kicked off their trade deadline moves with a minor swap with the St. Louis Cardinals. They’re acquiring infielder Edmundo Sosa in exchange for reliever JoJo Romero. 

It’s not a deal that should move the needle significantly, but it does shore up a Phillies defense that has been brutal this year. The 26-year-old Sosa is an otherworldly defender, racking up 3.8 WAR in parts of four big league seasons, despite slashing only .245/.318/.350 across 470 total plate appearances. He’s nothing special as a hitter, but his terrific defense will be a welcome addition for the Phils, and he can fly, giving them a nice speed option off the bench. Sosa also has four more years of team control, meaning they can keep him around as a utilityman for a while. 

It remains to be seen if Sosa will supplant the struggling Didi Gregorius at shortstop, or if he’ll fill more of a Johan Camargo/Yairo Muñoz bench role. However Camargo and Muñoz have minor league options remaining, meaning at least one of them is likely to be sent down. 

As for Romero, this brings an end to his disappointing tenure in Philadelphia. The 25-year-old has posted an ugly 7.89 ERA over only 21.2 big league innings. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2021, and only recently returned to the mound this season. However, after getting lit up for three earned runs in 2.0 innings this year, he was sent back to Triple-A. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cardinals unlock something in the left-hander, given their track record of developing pitchers. 

This is likely to be only the first trade of an active deadline for the Phillies, as wheeling-and-dealing President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski will look to upgrade the roster. This team could still use a center fielder and some pitching help, but the low-cost Edmundo Sosa pickup is a nice start.

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