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Joe La Sorsa

Reds To Add Joe La Sorsa To 40-Man Roster

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The Reds intend to select lefty reliever Joe La Sorsa onto their 40-man roster, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. He’ll remain with Triple-A Louisville, as the team will immediately option him back to the minors. Cincinnati has an open 40-man spot after last week’s Alexis Díaz trade, so there’s no need for a corresponding move.

La Sorsa triggered an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal over the weekend. That required the Reds to gauge interest from other teams in selecting his contract. If any other team were willing to do so, Cincinnati would either have to carry him on their own 40-man roster or let him join another team. They took the former approach to keep him in the organization, but he still has two minor league option years and can remain in Louisville through the end of next season if he holds his 40-man spot for that long.

The 27-year-old La Sorsa made 41 MLB appearances with the Rays and Nationals between 2023-24. He owns a cumulative 4.47 earned run average across 50 1/3 innings. La Sorsa’s sinker has sat in the 87-88 MPH range during his big league tenure. The lack of velocity has contributed to a below-average 19.2% strikeout rate. His velocity is up across the board this year in Triple-A. His sinker is sitting closer to 92 MPH, while he has pushed his sweeping slider from the mid-70s to north of 78 MPH on average. He’s running his four-seamer up to 94 MPH, though he has continued to lean on the sinker as his main pitch.

The uptick in stuff intrigued the Reds and presumably at least one other team. It hasn’t resulted in improved results, though. La Sorsa owns a 3.92 ERA with matching 16.1% strikeout and walk rates across 20 2/3 frames for Louisville. He’s getting whiffs on only 7.1% his offerings, which is two percentage points lower than last year’s Triple-A swinging strike rate. La Sorsa had managed a 2.25 ERA with much better command over 56 innings in the Nats’ system last season. The Reds will give him some more time to try to establish the command of his bigger stuff.

Reds’ Wade Miley Triggers Opt-Out; Joe La Sorsa To Exercise Upward Mobility Clause

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June 1: Wittenmyer now reports that Miley has triggered his opt out and has become a free agent.

May 31: Southpaw Joe La Sorsa is currently on a minor league deal in the Reds organization, but Ari Alexander of KPRC2 reports that the lefty plans to utilize the upward mobility clause in his contract, which is scheduled to go into effect on June 1. In addition, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the Reds face a decision on southpaw Wade Miley. The veteran signed a minor league deal back in January that granted him a uniform opt out opportunity on June 1, as it does for all Article XX(B) free agents. According to Wittenmyer, the organization anticipates that Miley will exercise that opt-out opportunity if Cincinnati declines to add him to their 40-man roster before then.

La Sorsa, 27, is an interesting relief arm who has two seasons of experience in the majors with the Rays and Nationals. He posted a 4.47 ERA with a 4.61 FIP across 50 1/3 innings of work between the 2023 and ’24 campaigns, though his strikeout rate of 19.2% over his time in the majors is rather pedestrian. Alexander writes that La Sorsa has added more than five ticks of velocity to his fastball relative to 2024, bringing it up to 94 mph. Impressive as that jump in velocity might be, his stats are fairly pedestrian at Triple-A so far this year. While he’s posted a 3.92 ERA in 20 2/3 innings of work this year, his identical 16.1% strikeout and walk rates suggest the lefty is something of a project who will need to make further adjustments before he can become a quality contributor in the majors.

With that being said, the upside of a lefty pitcher with a mid-90s fastball is certainly tantalizing, and given that La Sorsa has options remaining it would not be a shock to see a team take a shot on him. Teams will have 24 hours to claim La Sorsa and put him on their 40-man roster, though the Reds can prevent him from departing by putting him on their own 40-man. If he goes unclaimed and the Reds decline to add him to their 40-man, La Sorsa will remain with the club at Triple-A going forward.

Turning to Miley, the 38-year-old veteran of 14 MLB seasons is certainly the bigger name of the two lefty pitchers the Reds are at risk of losing tomorrow. Miley has more than 300 starts in the majors under his belt and boasts a career 4.07 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 4.15 FIP. The lefty underwent Tommy John surgery after just two appearances with the Brewers last year and is still in the midst of his rehab following that procedure. While an aging veteran who is rehabbing from major surgery on a minor league deal isn’t exactly the type of pitcher that normally jumps out as a potentially impactful addition, Miley has arguably gotten better with age: from 2018 to 2023, his posted a 3.43 ERA (131 ERA+) with a 4.24 FIP in 582 2/3 innings of work.

A mid-to-back of the rotation veteran like that would normally be a slam dunk to be added to the club’s roster, making the opt-out somewhat irrelevant. Unfortunately, Miley is still shaking off the rust after his long layoff in somewhat hit-or-miss rehab starts; he’s pitched to a 5.93 ERA in four rehab starts at Triple-A this month, and while that includes an encouraging outing where he allowed just two runs in five innings of work he’s also striking out just 11.1% of his opponents across these outings. Perhaps there are pitching-hungry teams who would like to roll the dice on the veteran, but it would be understandable if the Reds weren’t one of them given their solid rotation of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, and Brady Singer.

Reds To Sign Joe La Sorsa To Minor League Deal

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The Reds and left-hander Joe La Sorsa are in agreement on a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The southpaw will make the league minimum $780K in the majors and $180K in the minors.

La Sorsa, 27 in April, had a very brief stay on the open market. The Nationals designated him for assignment and then put him on release waivers. The report of this deal came out less than two hours after the announcement that he had cleared waivers and become a free agent.

He has thrown 50 1/3 innings in the majors over the last two years, allowing 4.47 earned runs per nine. His 19.2% strikeout rate has been subpar but his 6.4% walk rate a couple of ticks better than average. He has done a decent job of limiting damage in that sample, with Statcast having his average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate all a bit better than the rest of the league.

His minor league production has mostly been similar to that major league work. Over 2023 and 2024, he logged 92 2/3 innings on the farm with a 2.82 ERA, 18% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate. His 2022 numbers were a bit more unique. He logged 73 1/3 minor league innings over 40 appearances that year with a 2.33 ERA, 31.4% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate.

Even if he can’t get those huge strikeout numbers back, he can perhaps be useful on account of his strong control and ability to stay off barrels. The Reds project to have three lefties in their bullpen, including recent trade acquisition Taylor Rogers as well as Brent Suter and Sam Moll, though there’s nothing wrong with more depth. If La Sorsa gets added to Cincinnati’s roster at any point, he has a couple of option years and less than a year of service time, meaning he can potentially provide cheap depth with roster flexibility.

Nationals Release Joe La Sorsa

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Jan. 30: La Sorsa cleared release waivers and is now a free agent, the Nationals announced.

Jan. 29: The Nationals announced that they have requested unconditional release waivers on left-hander Joe La Sorsa. The lefty was already off the 40-man roster, as he was designated for assignment when the Nats signed Shinnosuke Ogasawara last week.

La Sorsa, 27 in April, has a previous career outright. The Nats passed him through waivers last offseason before eventually selecting him back to the roster in August. A player with a previous career outright has the right to reject another such assignment in favor of free agency. That’s likely why the Nats have placed him on release waivers instead of outright waivers.

The southpaw has 50 1/3 major league innings on his track record. Drafted by the Rays, he climbed to the majors with that club but was put on waivers after just two appearances. He was claimed by the Nats in June of 2023. As mentioned, he was off the roster for a portion of the 2024 season but most of his major league innings have come for the Nats. Overall, he has a 4.47 earned run average, 19.2% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 40.9% ground ball rate.

In the minors, he had really strong numbers in 2022 but has leveled off since then. He logged 73 1/3 innings on the farm in that 2022 season with a 2.33 ERA, 31.4% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate. Over the two most recent seasons, he’s thrown 92 2/3 minor league innings with a 2.82 ERA but with his 18% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate both moving in the wrong direction.

La Sorsa doesn’t throw hard, with his fastball averaging just 90.4 miles per hour in the majors last year, and has generally had subpar strikeout rates. But his small sample of big league work has had him avoid significant damage, with Statcast having his average exit velocity and hard hit rate both a bit better than average. He has a couple of options and less than a year of service time, which could add to his appeal as a depth option.

Nationals Sign Shinnosuke Ogasawara

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The Nationals announced the signing of left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara to a two-year deal on Friday. The WME Baseball client is reportedly guaranteed $3.5MM. He’ll make $1.5MM this year and $2MM in 2026. The Nationals will pay a $700K posting fee to his former team, the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. It’s a $4.2MM investment altogether. Fellow lefty Joe La Sorsa was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Ogasawara, 27, pitched in part of nine seasons for Dragons. He threw 951 1/3 innings, allowing 3.62 earned runs per nine. He struck out 18.9% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 7.7% clip.

Despite fairly decent run prevention, there are also some concerning elements in Ogasawara’s profile. His strikeout rate in Japan is a bit below what is expected of hurlers in North America these days, as the league average has been in the 22-23% range in recent seasons. He’s also a bit undersized, listed at 5’11” and 183 pounds. That size isn’t necessarily a disqualification, as it actually makes him larger than Shota Imanaga, who is 5’10” and 175. Imanaga proved himself capable of handling MLB hitters in 2024 but he also had a 25% strikeout rate in his NPB career before crossing, notably higher than Ogasawara.

It’s also a metric that has wavered for Ogasawara. He got his rate of punchouts as high as 24% in 2022, but then it dropped to 20.1% the year after and then fell way down to 13.6% in the most recent season. That big drop in strikeouts did coincide with a tiny walk rate of 3.7% and he still managed to post a 3.12 ERA, but it does lead to questions as to how his stuff will play in his new environment. He throws a fastball in the 91-93 mile-per-hour range, as well as featuring a curveball and a changeup.

Despite the question marks, it’s a sensible gamble for the Nats to take. The club has been rebuilding for a while, having recently wrapped up their fifth straight losing season. There was some speculation that they might come into this offseason looking to take a step forward, perhaps making a bold strike or two, but that hasn’t really come to pass.

They did make some moves, but mostly avoided committing themselves to anything beyond 2026. They signed Josh Bell, Michael Soroka, Amed Rosario and Jorge López to one-year deals. They brought back Trevor Williams on a two-year pact. Nathaniel Lowe, who has two seasons of club control remaining, was acquired from the Rangers.

Bringing in Ogasawara on a two-year pact aligns with those other moves. The club has seemingly taken the path of making some decent additions while also waiting to see how young players like Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House develop. Once they get more clarity on those players and others, they can decide about more assertive moves in the future.

The same is largely true of their rotation. Young and controllable pitchers like MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, DJ Herz and Cade Cavalli have shown some progress to varying degrees but there are still some question marks there. Irvin and Parker have posted decent run prevention numbers but with subpar strikeout rates. Herz had a nice MLB debut in 2024 but had massive walk problems in the minors. Cavalli missed the past two seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

The Nats would probably like a bit more time to continue evaluating those guys to see who among them can emerge as real rotation building blocks. They could have rolled into the season with a rotation of Gore, Irvin, Parker, Herz and Cavalli but clearly wanted to add some more options and improve the overall depth. As mentioned, they signed Soroka and Williams, with Ogasawara now added into the mix as well.

Those three and Gore should have four rotation spots accounted for, at least to start the season. Both Soroka and Williams have some relief experience and could get pushed to the bullpen if they struggle or one of the younger guys pushes them out. Each of Irvin, Parker, Herz and Cavalli have options and could get pushed to Triple-A. The Nats could perhaps consider a six-man rotation, though doing so would limit them to a seven-man bullpen. Josiah Gray could get back in the mix late in 2025 but is currently rehabbing from a Tommy John and internal brace surgery which was performed in July.

Perhaps the bolstered roster will push the Nats into a greater chance of contention, but they are also looking up at three really strong teams in the division. Atlanta and Philadelphia have been powerhouses for years while the Mets just made the playoffs and have been very aggressive, including adding Juan Soto. If the Nats find themselves outside the playoff mix come July, any of the players they’ve added could become trade candidates, on account of their short windows of club control.

The Dragons posted Ogasawara on December 10, which led to a 45-day posting window that ended today. If he had not signed, he would have returned to the Dragons but he’ll be coming to Washington instead. Unlike Roki Sasaki, Ogasawara is not subject to the international bonus pool system. That’s because he is over 25 years old and has at least six professional seasons on his track record. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $12MM deal at the start of the offseason.

The Nats owe the Dragons a posting fee, with the size of that fee dependent on the size of the contract. That fee will be equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. Since Ogasawara signed for less than $25MM, it’s simply 20% of the guarantee.

La Sorsa, 27 in April, has been a fringe member of the Washington roster for a while. He was claimed off waivers from the Rays in June of 2023 but was outrighted off the roster in December of that year. He got his roster spot back in August of 2024 but has now been bumped off again.

Between the Rays and the Nats, he has 50 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 4.47 ERA, 19.2% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. He had a strong showing in the minors in 2022, throwing 73 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA, 31.4% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate. However, he’s been a bit less impressive over the past two seasons, having thrown 92 2/3 innings with a 2.82 ERA, 18% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate. A .268 batting average on balls in play and 82.3% strand rate helped him out in that time, which is why his 4.62 FIP was almost two runs higher than his ERA.

He’ll now head to DFA limbo for a week at most. The Nats could explore trades for the next five days but would have to put him on waivers after that, since the waiver process takes 48 hours. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency on account of his previous outright.

The Associated Press reported the terms of Ogasawara’s deal.

Nationals Select Joe La Sorsa, Place Derek Law On 15-Day IL

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TODAY: The Nationals officially announced that La Sorsa’s contract has been selected.  In other moves, righty Joan Adon was also called up from Triple-A, while the Nationals placed left-hander Robert Garcia on the bereavement list and placed right-hander Derek Law on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow flexor strain.

Despite the serious-sounding nature of Law’s injury, he told reporters (including Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post) that he thinks he’ll be back to normal in 5-6 days time.  Law’s elbow has been bothering him for over a week, ever since pitching during rainy conditions in the Nationals’ 9-5 loss to the Giants on August 8.

AUGUST 16: Left-handed reliever Joe La Sorsa is on his way from Triple-A Rochester to join the Nationals, per Andrew Golden of the Washington Post (X link). Golden notes that La Sorsa might not be activated for today’s game, however. MLBTR has confirmed that La Sorsa is indeed headed to Philadelphia to join the Nats, and a source says he’ll have his contract selected following tonight’s game. He’ll formally join the roster tomorrow. The Nats have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move to accommodate the southpaw.

La Sorsa, 26, appeared in 25 big league games during last season’s MLB debut and pitched to a 4.41 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate in 32 1/3 innings between the Rays and Nats. Washington outrighted him off the 40-man roster back in December but has kept him in Triple-A as a non-roster player all season.

Things have gone well for La Sorsa with the Red Wings. He’s appeared in 42 games and logged 56 innings of relief with a pristine 2.25 earned run average. His 18.2% strikeout rate there is several percentage points shy of average, but he’s helped to offset the lack of whiffs with pinpoint command (4.9% walk rate) and a hefty slate of grounders (50.9%). La Sorsa now sports sub-3.00 ERA marks at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels in his career.

The Nats already have a pair of lefties in the bullpen in Robert Garcia and Jose A. Ferrer, although the latter has struggled considerably since returning from a long stay on the 60-day injured list due to a lat strain. However the Nats decide to make room for him, La Sorsa should be getting a legitimate audition down the stretch. If he performs well over the final five-plus weeks of the 2024 campaign, it’s easy to see the Nats keeping him on the 40-man roster this time around. La Sorsa still has two minor league option years remaining, so he could be an up-and-down depth arm for manager Davey Martinez next year even if he doesn’t carve out a permanent spot in the bullpen just yet.

Pirates Claim Roddery Muñoz From Nationals

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The Nationals announced that right-hander Roddery Muñoz was claimed off waivers by the Pirates and that left-hander Joe La Sorsa cleared outright waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. Washington’s 40-man roster is now at 38 and Pittsburgh’s is at 37.

Muñoz, 24 in April, came up as a prospect with Atlanta and got a spot on their 40-man roster a year ago to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He was designated for assignment in July and was claimed by the Nationals. Though he was recalled briefly by Atlanta in June, he has yet to make his major league debut, getting optioned back to the farm just a few days later.

Between the two clubs, he tossed 78 innings over 34 appearances with a 5.42 earned run average. He struck out 23% of batters faced but walked 15.1%. He was more impressive in 2022, tossing 100 1/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

It appears the Bucs are intrigued enough to give him a roster spot. Muñoz still has a couple of options remaining, which will allow the Pirates to keep him in the minors without exposing him to waivers. Given his youth and minimal service time, he could be a long-term depth piece for the club, as long as he continues to justify his spot on the 40-man.

La Sorsa, 26 in April, just made his major league debut in 2023. He made two appearances for the Rays before getting claimed off waivers by the Nationals and getting into 23 more contests. Between those two clubs, he tossed 32 2/3 innings with a 4.41 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 42.2% ground ball rate. By clearing waivers, he will provide the Nats will some non-roster depth.

Nationals Place MacKenzie Gore On 15-Day IL

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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.

Nationals Claim Joe La Sorsa

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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.

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