PHILADELPHIA — For the first time since April 8 of last season, Edmundo Sosa will start in left field for the Phillies Saturday against the Colorado Rockies.
Sosa is starting in left field Saturday with a lefty on the mound for Colorado in Kyle Freeland. Bryson Stott — as Bryce Harper pushed for earlier this week — is getting a chance to start against a left-handed pitcher. And despite largely struggling against lefties in his career, a red-hot Brandon Marsh is in center field against a southpaw, with rookie Justin Crawford getting the day off.
Sosa starts in left field
🆚: Colorado Rockies
🏟: Citizens Bank Park
⏰: 6:05 p.m. ET
📺: NBC Sports Philadelphia
📻: English: 94 WIP | Spanish: 106.1 Rumba pic.twitter.com/2RARf6cw4U
Saturday afternoon, interim manager Don Mattingly explained the decision to have Sosa in left field after watching him get some work out there before Friday's game.
"I just watched him run down balls, talked to Paco [Figueroa], our outfield guy, and he felt comfortable with him," Mattingly said.
"So I thought, might as well go for it, get it started. It's a way to kind of put the best guys on the field at least, and give us some versatility out in left field to be able to mix and match with our lefties. Some days Craw will get a a day like today, some days it will be Stott still. Some days Marsh. Whatever we need, it just gives us some more flexibility and keep the guys in the lineup who are kind of your regulars."
Edmundo Sosa, are you kidding me? pic.twitter.com/vXA2AdHJDK
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) April 8, 2025
Sosa’s lone start in left field last season was a bit of a whirlwind. He robbed a Marcell Ozuna homer in that start, but looked uncomfortable at other times. There was a ball that dropped between him and center fielder Johan Rojas, though in hindsight that might have been the latter’s fault. In any event, the Phillies abandoned the idea of Sosa in left field after just that one start.
It doesn't seem that will be the case this time around, although perhaps don't expect Sosa to still be in left field when the ninth inning of a close game rolls around.
"I think it's something we should at least give it some time, right? It sounds like the one last year, he made a really nice play to start the game, had a ball in I guess left-center ... sounds like [Johan] Rojas called it, he stops, the ball drops ... it's his fault, right? And then, that was kinda the end of it," Mattingly said.
"So for me, it's like you're trying to put your best club out there as far as getting your best guys in the lineup. And you're never going to be perfect, right? You wanna do the best you can and play the best defense you can possibly play. And it is a situation that you're not afraid to ... I've seen a lot of guys do it, they'll put a guy somewhere that they don't necessarily want out there in the ninth with the game on the line, but to get some extra runs early they're gonna try to put a better offense out there."
There’s a variety of factors that make giving Sosa another opportunity in the outfield make sense now. First off, the Phillies don’t have a better right-handed hitting option to platoon with Marsh/Crawford as Felix Reyes, Otto Kemp (since optioned to Triple-A) and Dylan Moore (outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers Friday) have all failed to make an offensive impact.
Sosa only got one start in the outfield last year, and it came at Truist Park, which is one of the larger outfields in the league. Giving Sosa a larger look — particularly if both him and Stott are producing offensively — might be the best course of action for the Phillies right now.
As For Sosa's Thoughts...
The always-positive 30-year-old is excited for the opportunity to play left field Saturday.
"I prepared yesterday. Most of today, I prepared as well," Sosa said through interpreter Diego D'Aniello. "I'll just take it as a challenge today and try to go out there on the field and catch every single ball that comes at me."
Sosa was then asked what he learned from his lone start last year, which was highlighted by the home run robbery.
"What I learned is that you always have to run. You can never stop until you catch that ball," Sosa said. "That's what that play taught me, it taught me things that Paco was already telling me during Spring Training is that the biggest challenge in the outfield is that you can never stop running until you get the ball."
Sosa — who doesn't have an outfielder's glove — will use Kyle Schwarber's:
Edmundo Sosa will be using Kyle Schwarber’s glove in left field tonight. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/I0ibtUFHxN
As for who he is leaning on to help him prepare for the outfield, Sosa said that Marsh "gave him a lot of great vibes" as they worked in the outfield together Saturday.
What about his good friend Adolis García, he of the 40 career defensive runs saved?
"He hasn't yet, and honestly, if he doesn't give me something today, I'll just smack him in the head," Sosa said through the interpreter with a grin.
"He has to share some experience there. He's the type of player that you want to share ... that's the type of guy you would want to take advice from — especially from a guy that hasn't played or started in that position in a while. So I feel like he's the type of guy to get advice from. He's been moving around today, he's been busy, but I feel like at some point he's gonna come to me and share something."
