Giants Should Target Edmundo Sosa as a Low-Cost Infield Upgrade

The San Francisco Giants could use an established utility player and Edmundo Sosa might be the best option on the market.

Edmundo Sosa reacts after hitting a double against the Atlanta Braves during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As things currently stand, the San Francisco Giants don’t really have a solidified bench or utility player to turn to. Even though they have a ton of utility players on the 40-man roster, most aren’t ready to take on a full-time utility role.

Jonah Cox showed to be a decent utility player this past season, while Christian Koss flashed defensive flexibility in the infield. Both spent time at multiple positions, but their offensive output wasn’t great.

The Giants could use someone with a good track record to step into a utility role for the 2027 season. Free agent swiss army knife Edmundo Sosa could do just the trick.

Who Exactly Is Edmundo Sosa?

Edmundo Sosa catches a pop up during the third inning in game three of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sosa, 30, is a veteran of eight major league seasons, spending time with the St. Louis Cardinals and, more recently, the Philadelphia Phillies.

He’s someone who a manager can plug into multiple different roles and scenarios and be successful, which is always a perk.

Sosa didn’t have much of a role with the Cardinals, but his career took off when he was acquired by the Phillies during the 2022 trade deadline, in a deal that sent left-handed reliever JoJo Romero back to St. Louis.

If you look at Sosa's numbers, specifically with the Phillies, across four-and-a-half seasons spanning 392 games, he posted a solid .260 batting average and .746 OPS, while being valued at a respectable 7 bWAR.

Sosa isn’t going to show much pop in his bat, only averaging 20 doubles and 13 home runs over 162 games, but his real value lies in his speed, defensive flexibility, and ability to hit for average.

This past season, Sosa’s sprint speed averaged 28.7 feet per second, which ranked in the 84th percentile. But even though he features superb speed, he’s only swiped 27 total bags over his career thus far.

Circling back to Sosa’s defense, on top of being flexible, logging innings at plenty of different positions, he’s also solid in doing so.

He spent most of his time in left field this season, logging 32 games at the position, but he also saw plenty of action at second base, third base, and shortstop. Sosa has seen time in center field, but only for a brief three-game sample size.

Sosa was valued at 1 fielding run value in 2026, which ranks in the 58th percentile, while also collecting 4 outs-above-average, placing in the 85th percentile.

The only flaw in his defensive profile is that Sosa’s arm isn’t very strong. His throws averaged only 79.8 mph, good enough for the 18th percentile. That also explains why he’s only logged 39 career games in the outfield, compared to 508 in the infield.

Keep in mind that even though Sosa will constantly post solid batting averages each season, his plate discipline isn’t very good, and it’s been a career trend for him.

Before we touch base on the fact that Sosa struggles with chasing pitches out of the zone and failing to make contact at a below-average clip, take note that over his career, he’s swung at 57.4% of pitches he sees, a much higher clip than the major league average 47.3% mark.

As a result, Sosa has been proven guilty of chasing pitches out of the zone at a poor 43% career clip, while failing to make contact on 28.6% of pitches he sees. Purely speculative, based on his numbers, but being more selective at the plate could possibly help fix this problem.

Having said that, Sosa is basically a super utility player who can hit for average, flash quality speed on the basepaths, and play multiple different defensive positions. He can also slide into a full-time starting role if needed.

Another perk with Sosa is that he isn’t going to do much damage to the payroll. According to Spotrac, he’s projected to sign a one-year contract, being valued at around $6 million per season.

For that price, Sosa would be a great signing for the Giants and should definitely be on the front office’s radar. He might be one of the more under-valued free agents on the market, and any time will benefit from his services.