This Phillies free agent might be the best match for what the NY Mets need

When a front office prepares to overhaul a roster, fans tend to get into a tizzy about which stars the team should pursue in free agency and on the trade market. Add in the financial backing of Steve Cohen's seemingly endless supply of cash, and it's understandable why the New York Mets' most loyal soldiers would start dreaming about blockbuster moves this winter after a disastrous 2026 season.

However, David Stearns isn't going to blow everything up, nor does he need to. The stars -- namely Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor -- are in place, with the requisite amount of young talent (Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Francisco Alvarez, Nolan McLean, etc.) around them to field a competitive ballclub. Where the Mets really need to overhaul their process is on the margins, as the myriad of role players Stearns brought in fell flat on their faces this year.

Is it less sexy to suggest the Mets should pursue Edmundo Sosa than, say, Brandon Lowe or Jazz Chisholm Jr.? Of course it is. But it also doesn't make it any less true.

Edmundo Sosa is the stable, reliable utility player Mets desperately need to add to their bench

Sosa, 30, has been a fixture in Philadelphia since the Phillies acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline. Since then, he's hit .260/.302/.444 in nearly 400 games, racking up 6.4 fWAR in that stretch. For good measure, he's also played all over the diamond, contributing positively graded defensive performances at second base, third base, shortstop, and left field.

In other words, he's a defensively stout utility man who can actually hit the ball. I shouldn't need to tell you how valuable someone like that is; Mets infielders combined for 2.9 fWAR this year, and that's without taking into account the -1.4 fWAR of damage Jorge Polanco did as a designated hitter. Having someone who can comfortably cover every infie;d position but first on any given night would go a long way toward eliminating the long periods of zero production we saw from various spots in the lineup throughout 2026.

That's not to say Sosa is perfect, mind you. He's pretty bad against right-handed pitching (45 wRC+ in that split this year) and is coming off his worst season with the Phillies. He isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to the Mets' many infield questions.

But as a capable player off the bench who can start when needed, he'd be a nice upgrade over forcing Polanco or Marcus Semien back into the everyday lineup. For a relative pittance in free agency -- and with the added bonus of weakening the Phillies in the process -- he's the kind of investment Stearns should be looking to make this offseason.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow