PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa was quickly tested in his first outfield appearance in exactly two years, and he did what he needed in order to pass.
After pinch hitting for the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth inning on Saturday afternoon, the natural infielder stayed in the game to play center field in the top of the ninth. The first batter, Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman, smoked a 100.8 mph liner that Sosa smoothly corralled. Enrique Hernández later hit another one to Sosa at 103 mph for the third out of the frame.
It’s funny how these things seem to work out in baseball.
“The ball will always find you,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He got good jumps, good reactions. The routes were good.”
Thomson sent Sosa, swinging a red-hot bat to start the season, up to the plate in the eighth inning as the Phillies searched for offense in an eventual 3-1 loss to Los Angeles at Citizens Bank Park. The right-handed hitter entered in place of center fielder Brandon Marsh and struck out swinging against left-hander Alex Vesia. With Philadelphia trailing, Thomson opted to send Sosa back out on defense instead of replacing him with the glove-first Johan Rojas off the bench.
Saturday marked Sosa’s first time in the outfield since April 5, 2023, when he played two innings in center to finish a game at Yankee Stadium. The 29-year-old seemed pretty comfortable despite the long layoff.
“Obviously, the ball looked for me right away,” Sosa said through a team interpreter, “and I was prepared for that moment, though. So we’ve been working really hard to be comfortable and feel a little confidence in those situations and in this position as well.”
Sosa’s outfield defense has been more of a discussion than a reality over the past few years. In his seven big-league seasons with the Cardinals and Phillies, he’s now logged a total of 6 1/3 innings in the outfield with only two appearances in left field and three in center.
However, the Phillies (6-2) have talked a lot about trying Sosa out there on the grass. He played two games in left after they traded for him in 2022, took outfield reps in spring training in 2023 and 2025 and worked on his defense out there during the first half of last season The regular-season opportunities just haven’t really presented themselves so far.
Sosa has continued to take balls in the outfield during batting practice, committing himself to being versatile. Even though he doesn’t have much in-game experience, Thomson trusted Sosa to stick it out in center against the Dodgers.
Still, Sosa has never played a full game in the outfield in his major-league career. Thomson admitted that he’d “probably not” start him in center field, as Marsh and Rojas are better defenders at the position.
“But I can see him playing some left field,” Thomson added.
With a 1.401 OPS in his first five games this year, Sosa could use some more at-bats while he’s performing this well, and left field could be a spot that makes sense. The Phillies have two left-handed-hitting outfield starters in Marsh and Max Kepler, and Sosa is the only trusted righty batter off the bench. An extra game in left once in a while could be a nice boost for the club and for Sosa.
Sosa certainly isn’t demanding it, but he’s ready if Thomson decides to give him a shot.
“I work really hard for this,” Sosa said. “We’ve been working really hard for this. And I think that if that’s the case, then I think we prepared ourselves for this moment.
“And it’s not me saying that I need to go out and play in the outfield right now, but I’m saying I’m prepared for this moment in case it’s needed. And if it’s going to be like that, then I’m going to be playing my game, playing like myself, giving 100% effort and just trying to get a win for the team in whatever they need me to do.”
