The 2022 Trade Deadline Is Still Paying Dividends for the Phillies

Three veteran stars are supposed to be the leaders of the Philadelphia Phillies’ offense: Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner. Harper and Schwarber are fulfilling their ends of the bargain. Turner, so far, is not.

Thankfully for the Phillies, who have won eight of nine since Don Mattingly took over for Rob Thomson, a couple of other hitters have stepped up.

Four Phillies have a wRC+ above 100 in 2026. Harper and Schwarber are two of them. The others are outfielder Brandon Marsh and infielder Edmundo Sosa. Marsh and Sosa also sit alongside Harper and Schwarber as Philadelphia’s top four hitters by OPS, wOBA, expected wOBA, and Win Probability Added.

Marsh ranks among the top 20 qualified NL players in a wide variety of categories. His .336 batting average is third in the majors. Sosa’s numbers aren’t quite as impressive on the surface, nor does he qualify for any leaderboards, but he’s making quality contact in big spots. His xwOBA and WPA both put him ahead of Marsh.

Wednesday’s come-from-behind win against the Athletics was a beautiful demonstration of how valuable the two of them can be. Marsh went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Sosa went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in. His second hit gave the Phillies the lead in the bottom of the eighth.

Marsh also showed off his speed with a triple, while Sosa flashed the leather on a nice play at second base. Both of them switched positions late in the game to accommodate substitutions. Marsh has covered all three outfield spots this year, while Sosa can play all over the diamond.

Indeed, these two have quite a bit in common. They both bring a little bit of everything to the team: power, baserunning, defensive versatility, animated on-field celebrations, and good clubhouse vibes.

A critic might point to their shortcomings against same-handed pitching, which have kept them from receiving more regular playing time over the years. I prefer to focus on just how productive they can be when the platoon advantage is on their side.

Since Sosa’s arrival, no one on the Phillies (min. 150 PA) has a higher batting average (.298), slugging percentage (.518), OPS (.863), or wRC+ (135) against left-handed pitching.

Meanwhile, Marsh leads the Phillies in batting average against right-handers (.292) since he came to town, and he ranks top-three in OBP, slugging, OPS, and wRC+, trailing only Harper and/or Schwarber in all of those categories.

In the time each has spent with the Phillies, Marsh ranks fifth on the team in FanGraphs WAR, while Sosa ranks eighth. However, Sosa is second in fWAR per plate appearance (min. 200 PA), behind Turner. Then there’s Harper in third and Marsh in fourth.

Sure, they aren’t without their flaws. But across parts of five seasons, these two players have consistently done a damn good job of the roles the Phillies have asked them to play.

Marsh and Sosa: Trade Deadline Gold

As you might have noticed, I’ve been dancing around the most obvious similarity between Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa: The Phillies acquired both of them ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.

Each trade was a one-for-one swap, and each was more notable for the player the Phillies sent away than the one they received – at least to Phillies fans at the time.

Philadelphia sent reliever JoJo Romero to the Cardinals for Sosa and top catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe to the Angels for Marsh. Neither was a move that Phillies fans anticipated. I can’t say I’d even heard of Marsh or Sosa before August 2022.

The Phillies already had a full infield with players like Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Didi Gregorius, plus the experienced Johan Camargo on the bench and All-Star second baseman Jean Segura nearing his return from the injured list. A utility infielder didn’t seem like a priority, especially not if the cost was a reliever who could help the big league bullpen down the stretch.

The need for a center fielder was more apparent; the Phillies had failed to get any production out of the position for years. Yet, when a team with playoff aspirations trades a top prospect at the deadline, it’s usually to acquire an established name. That’s not what this was.

To be clear, these never seemed like bad trades. They just weren’t the ones the fan base expected. But if anyone did have their doubts about Marsh and Sosa, the Phillies’ newest hitters quickly silenced them.

Marsh hit for a 115 wRC+ over the final two months of the season, and he was a massive upgrade for the worst defensive outfield in baseball. Sosa caught fire after the trade. He wasn’t just an upgrade over replacement-level infielders Gregorius and Camargo – he was one of Philadelphia’s best bats.

The Phillies went on to win the NL pennant that year. It’s easy to imagine how they could have missed out on the playoffs entirely without Marsh and Sosa. Really, that one playoff run is all it took for those trades to count as wins for Dave Dombrowski. Everything they’ve done since is a bonus.

That’s just it. These moves were surprising at the time, but what’s really surprising is that they’re still paying off. It’s not often that the players a contending team acquires at the deadline are still such important contributors so many seasons later.

Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa were difference-makers for the 2022 Phillies. They have continued to play key roles in each season since. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are the captains of the ship, but the Phillies wouldn’t be clawing back into the playoff picture without the two hitters they traded for four summers back.