CHICAGO -- The Phillies have dealt with a slew of injuries to key players early this season -- Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Ranger Suarez, Andrew Painter, Darick Hall.
They're hoping another important and versatile piece, Edmundo Sosa, can avoid the injured list.
Sosa has not played since Saturday because of back soreness. He was available Tuesday in case of emergency and manager Rob Thomson said the same would be true in Wednesday's series finale, but the Phils are trying to stay away from him until the issue subsides.
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Sosa was set to see a doctor about the back Wednesday morning. The Phils are still calling him day-to-day.
"It just kind of tightened up on him and grabbed," Thomson said. "He was hitting the other day, he went to pick a baseball up after he was done hitting and it grabbed again. So we're just going to try to get some type of idea of what's going on."
The maximum an IL stint can be backdated is three days and the Phillies are already past that. A decision on Sosa's status and whether he'll require time on the injured list could come as they begin a seven-game homestand Thursday against the Rockies.
Sosa had become a regular starter for the Phillies against left-handed pitching, playing third base while Alec Bohm shifted across the diamond to first. The utilityman known for his glove has done nothing but hit since spring training and the Phillies certainly don't want that hot bat to cool down while he's sidelined. Sosa hit .364 in spring training and started the regular season 11 for 32 (.334) with three doubles, two homers and five RBI.
MLB
Sosa has appeared in 38 regular-season games with the Phillies since coming over from the Cardinals at the 2022 trade deadline for reliever JoJo Romero, a deal the Phils clearly seem to have won. He has value even when he's not hitting because of his defensive ability at premium positions, but like Brandon Marsh, Sosa has exceeded expectations offensively in a small sample. He's hit .326/.348/.605 in 93 plate appearances as a Phillie.
The only other healthy position players on the Phillies' 40-man roster are outfielders Dalton Guthrie, Simon Muzziotti and Johan Rojas. If Sosa does require time on the IL, the Phillies could call up one of the outfielders (likely Guthrie) because Bryson Stott can be the backup shortstop to Trea Turner and Josh Harrison can play second base in addition to the infield corners.
Another option would be trimming someone off the 40-man roster to call up Scott Kingery, who homered in his first two games of the season with the IronPigs but is hitting .231/.286/.404 in the early going.