Headlines

  • Buck Showalter Will Not Return As Mets Manager In 2024
  • Tim Wakefield Passes Away
  • Felix Bautista To Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Signs Through 2025 Season
  • Rockies Sign Charlie Blackmon To One-Year Extension
  • Reds Sign Nick Krall To Extension, Promote Him To President Of Baseball Operations
  • Giants Fire Gabe Kapler
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Joe La Sorsa

Nationals Place MacKenzie Gore On 15-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | September 9, 2023 at 9:40pm CDT

The Nationals placed left-hander MacKenzie Gore on the 15-day injured list earlier today with finger blisters. Fellow lefty Joe La Sorsa was recalled in the corresponding move. As relayed by MLB.com, manager Dave Martinez told reporters this afternoon that Gore is likely done for the season as a result of the injury, though he added that he wasn’t going to rule anything out “right now.”

2023 was Gore’s first full season with the Nationals after coming over from the Padres as a part of the deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego. Overall, Gore looked like a solid, rotation-caliber arm in 27 starts this season, though his 4.42 ERA clocked in right around league average (96 ERA+) and his peripherals (4.90 FIP, 5.08 xERA) hardly looked like those one would expect from an arm who was once considered the top pitching prospect in all of baseball.

That being said, Gore did post a solid 25.9% strikeout rate along with a perfectly manageable walk rate of 9.8% this year. Most of Gore’s struggles this season stemmed from problems with the long ball; a whopping 18.4% of Gore’s fly balls left the yard for home runs this season, double the 9.2% rate he experienced in 2022 as a member of the Padres.

Digging a little deeper into Gore’s numbers, it seems the 24-year-old hurler may have worn down during his first wire-to-wire big league season as the year went on. Gore made sixteen starts in the first three months of the season, and looked like a quality mid-rotation arm during that time. Despite hitters managing an elevated .341 BABIP against him, Gore posted a 3.89 ERA and 4.07 FIP in 85 2/3 innings of work, with a fantastic 28.5% strikeout rate.

In his final eleven starts of the season from the start of July onward, Gore looked like a completely different pitcher. Despite his BABIP misfortunes from earlier in the season turning around in his favor (.261), he posted a 5.33 ERA and 6.30 FIP across his final 50 2/3 innings of work this year while striking out just 21.7% of batters faced. His home run rate also ballooned, as he allowed more dingers (14) in those final 50-plus innings than he did in the entire first half (13).

Given this downturn in production as the season wore on, it’s hardly surprising that the Nationals would consider pulling the plug on Gore’s season with three weeks left to go. At the same time, it could provide some reason for optimism for Nationals fans as they look to the future, as Gore is sure to be a member of the 2024 rotation alongside the likes of Josiah Gray and Jake Irvin. If Gore’s late-season struggles were a product of working beyond what Martinez indicated the club expected his innings limit to be coming into the year, it’s possible his 2024 season could wind up looking more like his impressive first-half numbers.

As for La Sorsa, the 25-year-old lefty made his MLB debut for the Rays earlier this season. In 23 2/3 innings of work at the big league level this season between the Tampa and Washington bullpens, the lefty sports a 6.08 ERA and 4.74 FIP. Despite those ugly numbers, he’ll nonetheless provide the Nats with an additional lefty out of the bullpen to pair with Jose Ferrer.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Transactions Washington Nationals Joe La Sorsa MacKenzie Gore

6 comments

Nationals Claim Joe La Sorsa

By Steve Adams | June 8, 2023 at 1:05pm CDT

The Nationals have claimed left-hander Joe La Sorsa off waivers from the Rays, the team announced Thursday. La Sorsa, who was designated for assignment by Tampa Bay earlier this week, been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. The Nats had multiple 40-man vacancies after this week’s DFAs of Andres Machado and Erasmo Ramirez, so a corresponding move is not necessary. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston first reported the move.

La Sorsa, 25, made his big league debut with the Rays this month, pitching 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball with three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. He’s had a nice showing so far between Double-A (three innings) and Triple-A (21 innings) so far in 2023, pitching to a combined 3.38 ERA with a 7.5% walk rate. La Sorsa’s 14.2% strikeout rate is well below average, checking in at less than half the 31.7% clip he showed between High-A and Double-A just last season. It’s a generally small sample, though, and La Sorsa’s 13% swinging-strike rate in Triple-A certainly seems to portend an eventual uptick in the strikeout department.

While La Sorsa has never ranked as a top prospect, he’s a controllable lefty with a nice minor league track record who has all three minor league option years remaining. He’s pitched 203 2/3 innings of minor league ball with a 2.87 ERA, fanning nearly four and a half times as many hitters — about a quarter of his total opponents — as he’s walked in that time. For a Nationals club with little stability in the bullpen, he’s an interesting potential long-term pickup who could eventually carve out a regular role in the relief corps.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Washington Nationals Joe La Sorsa

11 comments
Show all

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Buck Showalter Will Not Return As Mets Manager In 2024

    Tim Wakefield Passes Away

    Felix Bautista To Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Signs Through 2025 Season

    Rockies Sign Charlie Blackmon To One-Year Extension

    Reds Sign Nick Krall To Extension, Promote Him To President Of Baseball Operations

    Giants Fire Gabe Kapler

    Orioles Agree To 30-Year Lease At Camden Yards

    Padres Prefer To Retain A.J. Preller, Bob Melvin In 2024

    Brooks Robinson Passes Away

    Reds’ Matt McLain Shut Down For Remainder Of 2023 Season

    Padres Plan To Reduce Payroll To Around $200MM; Front Office Changes Possible

    Marlins Place Eury Perez On 15-Day Injured List, Select Jeff Lindgren

    Sandy Alcantara Shut Down For Rest Of 2023 Season

    Brandon Lowe To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Kneecap Fracture

    Rays Promote Junior Caminero

    Sean Doolittle Announces Retirement

    Tigers Name Jeff Greenberg General Manager

    Qualifying Offer Value To Land Around $20.5MM

    Shohei Ohtani Undergoes Elbow Surgery

    Marlins Claim Matt Moore From Guardians

    Recent

    Buck Showalter Will Not Return As Mets Manager In 2024

    Braves Outright Ehire Adrianza To Triple-A

    Coaching Notes: Guardians, Albernaz, Giants, Yankees, Casey, White Sox

    Tim Wakefield Passes Away

    Cubs Announce Several Roster Moves

    Twins Designate Gilberto Celestino For Assignment

    Blue Jays Designate Jay Jackson For Assignment

    Reds Select Alan Busenitz

    Marlins Designate Matt Moore For Assignment

    Giants Activate Brandon Crawford From 10-Day IL

    ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Shohei Ohtani Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version