Phillies acquire backup infielder Edmundo Sosa from the Cardinals for lefty reliever JoJo Romero

PITTSBURGH — The Phillies’ first move ahead of the trade deadline came early Saturday afternoon when they acquired shortstop Edmundo Sosa from the Cardinals in exchange for left-handed reliever JoJo Romero, who had most recently been pitching for triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Sosa is a glove-first shortstop, who also can fill in at second base and third base. With Jean Segura able to be activated off of the 60-day injured list as early as Sunday, Sosa provides some flexibility as Segura eases back into an everyday role.

Sosa is now the Phillies’ best infield defender. Over 219⅔ innings at shortstop this season, he has five defensive runs saved and 13 defensive runs saved over his last two seasons. He is plus-7 in outs above average at shortstop over his past two seasons. The 26-year-old righty has hit .189/.244/.270 over 131 plate appearances this season and slashed .271/.346/.389 over 326 plate appearances last season.

“He’s really a good defender,” interim manager Rob Thomson said of his newest player. “He plays second, short, third. He’s a plus plus defender anywhere he plays, and he can run. Can play a little bit against left-handed pitching. We’ll use him.”

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Thomson said Sosa is scheduled to arrive Saturday night in Pittsburgh and join the team Sunday, assuming he experiences no travel delays. Sosa has no minor league options, so the Phillies will need to clear a spot for him on their active roster. They could move Yairo Muñoz, who has a minor league option, to clear the spot for Sosa, but once Segura is activated off of the 60-day injured list, the Phillies will need to clear another spot for Segura.

“We’ll see how this works out, but we’ve got a lot of moving and shaking (to do),” Thomson said.

Another option for the Phillies would be to designate Didi Gregorius for assignment. Gregorius has struggled offensively and defensively this season, posting a minus-4 defensive runs saved (DRS) at shortstop and a career low 19.3% hard-hit percentage, per Fangraphs. The ball is coming off of his bat at an average exit velocity of 84.7, which ranks in the bottom 3% of all big league hitters. His minus-4 outs above average (OAA) ranks in the bottom 8% of all big league shortstops.

Ideally, the Phillies could try to trade him, but given how the 33-year-old Gregorius has performed this season, it will be a tough sell. Gregorius hits free agency in 2023 but is signed on a hefty contract: the Phillies are paying him $15,250,000 this season.

“Well, we’ll see (where he fits in),” Thomson said of Gregorius. “The one thing Didi is doing is he’s playing his rear end off at short. I mean, he really is. He’s making plays and attacking balls. And his glove work is so good, it’s better than I’ve seen since his Yankee days. He’s really moving well. So, we’ll just play that by ear once we get everybody healthy and everybody here and make all of our moves, figure out where we’re at.”

Given the fact that the Phillies have a pretty crowded infield that’s about to get more crowded, Sosa’s best bet to get playing time is as a late-inning defensive replacement. He could fill in for Alec Bohm late in games and Segura on days that he’s not playing, since it’s unlikely Segura will be playing every day immediately after coming off of the 60-day injured list.

Sosa hits free agency in 2027. Long term, he’s a defense-first backup infielder who the Phillies can plug in pretty much anywhere.

Romero was selected by the Phillies in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft. He recently was activated off of the 60-day injured list following his rehab after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2021. He had a 7.89 ERA in 21⅔ innings over parts of three seasons with the Phillies and a 1.50 ERA through 12 minor league innings pitched this season.

Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson was placed on the bereavement list Saturday following the death of his grandmother. As a corresponding move, reliever Mark Appel was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Gibson will attend his grandmother’s funeral on Tuesday and could rejoin the team Thursday or Friday. Because he will be unable to make his start Tuesday in Atlanta, the Phillies will have a bullpen game on Tuesday and start Zack Wheeler on Wednesday to keep him on five days of rest.

Segura, who is on a rehab assignment in triple-A Lehigh Valley, DHed on Friday night in Durham, N.C. He went 1-for-3. Thomson said Segura’s timing at the plate is starting to come back. On Saturday night, starting at second base, Segura again went 1-for-3, with two RBIs, a run scored, and a pair of walks. He is expected to start again on Sunday afternoon, and then the Phillies will re-evaluate him.