Edmundo Sosa is getting more opportunities in the Phillies’ lineup: ‘He’s got a lot of confidence’

PITTSBURGH — Phillies manager Rob Thomson has been trying to find spots to put utility infielder Edmundo Sosa into the lineup, and with second baseman Bryson Stott struggling at the plate, he saw an opportunity on Sunday. Sosa was hitting .293/.348/.342 over his previous 15 games before going 1-for-5 in the series finale against the Pirates. It’s an impressive feat, given the fact that he hasn’t played regularly with shortstop Trea Turner back from his stint on the injured list.

“He’s been swinging the bat well,” Thomson said of Sosa. “Got to keep Stott going because he’s going to hit, it’s just a matter of when. But Sosa’s been really swinging the bat. We’re going to face a ton of righties coming up after this. So, good time to get him in.”

Stott has had an unusual start to his season. He is happy with some aspects of it — he is chasing pitches out of the strike zone less and has doubled his walk rate — but he hasn’t hit for power or average the way he’s wanted to. Stott is hitting .235/.323/.346 on the season, with a .669 OPS.

So, for now, that means Thomson will run platoons at second base, left field and center field. He doesn’t foresee that continuing for the duration of the season, particularly not at second base.

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“I think Stott, once he gets going, he can hit left-handers,” Thomson said. “I think he’s an everyday guy for the most part.”

Thomson thinks that Sosa has benefited from the playing time he got in Turner’s absence. He posted a .275/.336/.505 slash line with an .841 OPS and four home runs from the day Turner was placed on the IL (May 4) to the day he was reinstated (June 17).

“He got the chance to play when Trea was out,” Thomson said, “and I think he got comfortable and got going and [he’s] got a lot of confidence right now.”

Right-hander Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) is at the Phillies’ facility in Clearwater, Fla. He started his throwing program and will continue to do that this week.

“He’s going to get out to 120 feet,” Thomson said of Turnbull. “If it goes really well, maybe [he’ll start throwing bullpen sessions] by the end of the week, but the plan right now is just the throwing program.”

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It’s unclear how Turnbull will be used when he returns to the team. They are going to try to stretch him out, but a bullpen role is possible.

“We could be [using him out of the bullpen],” Thomson said. “Because it’s going to be tough to get him stretched out fully. So, it could be. We’ll have to see where he’s at, at what time, and then we’ll just make an adjustment or make a decision.”

J.T. Realmuto was out of the lineup on Sunday because he had a scheduled day off. Realmuto was reinstated from the injured list on Saturday. He is expected to play in Monday’s game at Minnesota … Taijuan Walker (right index finger inflammation) will throw another bullpen session in Minnesota and then throw batting practice when the team returns to Philadelphia.