Phillies: With Hall injury, Sosa needs to be a part of the lineup

Edmundo Sosa was one of the best players on this Philadelphia Phillies’ roster during spring training. The reasoning for Sosa to not be inserted into the starting lineup is baffling, but with Darick Hall going down for thumb surgery, the time to move Alec Bohm to first base has come. This lineup’s ability to hit is suspect. In 11 at-bats this season, Sosa is batting .300 with a home home run.

I get Rob Thomson’s idea of having Sosa as the main utility guy on this roster because of how dependable he is, but Sosa deserves to be given a shot at being an everyday player. Both Kody Clemens and Sosa are the same age, but Sosa has proven to be an MLB-caliber player. Clemens did have a good spring training as well, but Clemens didn’t make this team due to the need for an extra body in the outfield after the Phillies acquired Christian Pache.

While it is still uncertain if David Dombrowski will make a move to find a replacement first baseman for both Rhys Hoskins and Darick Hall, the answer for the Phillies could be closer than it appears

Alec Bohm back to first with Edmundo Sosa going to third could be the move that helps take this team over the top until Bryce Harper comes back, which could be soon after seeing his batting practice today. Ultimately, at this point, it’s about winning some games and keeping the confidence up. There is still a lot of baseball to play, but figuring out the lineups as the season goes is going to be a challenge all on its own.

Bohm has become a premier hitter and has been able to come up with clutch hits. At some point, moving him up in the lineup is going to have to happen, especially with the way this team has had issues scoring runs with the amount of hits they have accumulated early here in the season. Moving Bohm to first isn’t just a short-term move, it is the long-term solution. We may never see Rhys Hoskins in a Phillies jersey ever again. Instead of scrambling for a first baseman in free agency, moving Bohm permanently to first and allowing Sosa to earn third base would be something this team could benefit from.

Having Sosa down in your lineup could provide that stability in the bottom third of the order. Having him with Marsh could create some interesting match ups in the bottom of the order. Going Cave, Sosa and Marsh would help with the depth hitting. Turner, Schwarber, Realmuto, Castellanos, Stott, Bohm, Cave, Sosa and Marsh makes me feel a lot better than having Clemens in the lineup. Clemens just hasn’t done enough to be considered an MLB-caliber player. Maybe he is the surprise that every team tends to find while going on a World Series run.

But if the Phillies want the safe option that will help this team now, Bohm to first and Sosa to third is the answer. Finding another dependable utility player isn’t always hard, especially for Dombrowski who brought Johan Camargo and then Edmundo Sosa after Camargo wasn’t able to go due to injury. Dombrowski is fantastic at finding talent and will improve this team by any means. Hopefully Thomson will experiment with this idea and we see it soon.

• Published on 04/08/2023 at 1:00 PM EDT
• Last updated on 04/08/2023 at 1:00 PM EDT