Edmundo Sosa and Adolis García are like brothers, and they’ve been reunited as Phillies with the ‘same goal’

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Edmundo Sosa woke up one day in 2019 and decided to get married.

Sosa was a minor leaguer in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, playing in triple A for the Memphis Redbirds. It was just a random day in July, but he decided he couldn’t wait any longer to tie the knot with his girlfriend, Daira Vega.

And so that day, Sosa hired a photographer, found an officiant, and decided on a public park in Memphis where they could hold an impromptu ceremony.

“I just didn’t want to buy any more plane tickets,” Sosa, who is originally from Panama, said jokingly.

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There was just one call left to make: to Adolis García, Sosa’s best friend and teammate on the Redbirds. García and his wife served as their witnesses for the spur-of-the-moment wedding, with García also acting as Sosa’s best man.

Now, the pair who consider themselves more like brothers than friends are teammates once again. García, 32, signed a one-year deal with the Phillies this winter to be the team’s everyday right fielder, and is sharing a clubhouse with Sosa, 29, for the first time since that 2019 season.

That December, García was traded to the Texas Rangers, where he spent the next five years. He won a World Series in 2023 and was named American League Championship Series MVP along the way. Sosa remained in the Cardinals organization until he was traded to the Phillies in 2022, and has developed into a key utility infielder and bench bat.

García said he called Sosa right away when the Phillies’ offer was on the table.

“I got very excited at that moment, because I thought and felt that we were going to be close again,” Sosa said through an interpreter. “We were going to be playing together again. So that brought a lot of fun memories that we had back in the years. We trained a lot together.

“We got better together, both as people and as players.”

At Phillies camp, if you see one Sosa or García, the other typically is not far behind. Their schedules most days are similar, and they have played together in all the same Grapefruit League games so far.

They remember clearly the day they met. It was at Field 1 at the Cardinals complex during 2017 spring training, and they were in the same hitting group. Sosa was turning 20 that March, and García, who had just defected from Cuba, was turning 24. (Their birthdays are four days apart.)

“We got along pretty fast,” Sosa said. “I mean, I think it was [former Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina] hitting that day, first one in the group, and another guy, and it was us, too. So we just introduced each other, chat a little bit, and then after that, we were just really close.”

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That season, Sosa started the year in high A, and García had been assigned to double-A Springfield. Sosa hit .285 in 51 games, and earned a call-up to Springfield in June to join García. But it didn’t last long: In Sosa’s first game in double A, he broke his hamate bone. So instead of a grand reunion on the first day, all they did was go out to eat at Qdoba.

The next year at spring training in Jupiter, Fla., they shared a hotel room. They spent a lot of time hanging out, playing video games, and going to the beach.

Even after they were on separate clubs, they remained close. In 2021, Sosa wanted to spend the offseason training in the U.S. but didn’t have a place to stay. García welcomed him into his home, along with Sosa’s wife, Daira, who was pregnant with their daughter, Naya.

García is Naya’s godfather, and they share a birthday: March 2.

Sosa had to leave for spring training after Naya’s birth, while Daira stayed with García’s wife, Yasmarys, who helped her adjust to motherhood.

“I have never told him this,” Sosa said, “but I always was grateful for everything he did for my family during that time.”

This offseason, Sosa and García trained together again in Tampa. García has been focused on plate discipline as he seeks to recapture his 2023 form, when he posted an .836 OPS and bashed 39 home runs. Phillies assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez also visited García over the winter.

Already having a best friend in the clubhouse has helped García as he adapts to a new organization.

“It’s good for me, it’s good for us, too, because he’s helped me get acquainted with the guys, and he’s helped let them embrace me, too,” García said.

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García has two children as well, and their families are just as close as they are. They often spend time together barbecuing, playing each other in FIFA — Sosa conceded that García is better — and listening to music.

They will briefly be separated when Sosa leaves this week to represent Panama at the World Baseball Classic. Panama will compete in Pool A in San Juan, Puerto Rico, alongside Puerto Rico, Cuba, Colombia, and Canada.

It is a big year for both of them, as García and Sosa will be free agents at the end of 2026. Before that, though, they have a goal that would be all the more special if they could achieve it together.

“We share the same goal right now,” Sosa said. “For me, it is to go back to a World Series as a player, and for him, it is to win another one. I just think of it as a beautiful process that we get to live now, and we’re going to be supporting each other, pushing each other, and trying to make each other better during the season.”