Rays Activate Shawn Armstrong, Designate Joe La Sorsa
The Rays have made some moves in between games of their double-header with the Red Sox today, as reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Left-hander Joe La Sorsa was designated for assignment and righty Trevor Kelley was optioned to Triple-A. Taking their places in the bullpen are the newly-acquired Robert Stephenson, as well as another right-hander in Shawn Armstrong. For Armstrong, he is set to make his 2023 debut after being activated from the 60-day injured list, as he has been sidelined due to a neck injury.
Armstrong’s neck problem surfaced in early March, so he missed quite a bit of Spring Training and thus needed a good amount of ramp-up time once he was healthy enough to pitch. The veteran reliever made seven appearances with Triple-A Durham and performed well, with a 2.00 ERA over his even nine innings of work.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen has always been something of a revolving door due to the team’s penchant for shuttling fresh arms up and down from Triple-A, but injuries and an overall so-so performance from the relief corps (who rank 22nd in bullpen ERA) has led to a bit more shuffling than usual. The Rays hope that Armstrong and Stephenson can help provide some stability, as the bullpen has been basically the only relative weak link on a team that otherwise looks like a World Series contender.
That said, injuries within the rotation are also a major concern, with Drew Rasmussen out until around August and Jeffrey Springs done for the season due to Tommy John surgery. In addition to those sidelined pitchers, Josh Fleming is now also set to miss “at least several weeks,” Topkin writes, due to an elbow problem. Fleming said he felt “discomfort on the outside of the elbow and near his triceps,” and is undergoing an MRI and CT scan today to determine the nature of the injury.
Fleming has a 4.62 ERA over 48 2/3 innings this season, starting three of his 11 games. While the results have been inconsistent for the groundball specialist, Fleming’s ability to work as a swingman has been helpful to the Rays as they navigate these injuries, though now Fleming himself is looking at a lengthy absence. Topkin suggests that Tampa might call up Yonny Chirinos to work as a regular starter, and of course Tampa Bay could conceivably turn to their past strategy of openers and bulk pitchers rather than a traditional starter.
La Sorsa’s contract was selected last week, and the southpaw’s brief stint in the big leagues resulted in his MLB debut — two scoreless innings in the Rays’ 1-0 loss to the Cubs on May 29. The 25-year-old La Sorsa also pitched at the Triple-A level for the first time in 2023, posting a 3.86 ERA over 21 innings in Durham. La Sorsa has some decent but not standout numbers over his four career minor league seasons, so it’s possible the Rays might be able to sneak him through the waiver wire before outrighting him back to Triple-A.
Rays Select Joe LaSorsa
May 28: The Rays announced the selection of LaSorsa. They’ve designated Chris Muller for assignment and optioned Trevor Kelley to Triple-A.
May 27: The Rays will select the contract of left-hander Joe LaSorsa prior to Sunday’s game with the Dodgers, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). LaSorsa was scratched from his scheduled start tonight with Triple-A Durham and now looks to be on the verge of his MLB debut.
Since LaSorsa isn’t on the 40-man roster, the Rays will have to make at least one corresponding move to fit the southpaw onto the active 26-man roster. Topkin speculates that Trevor Kelley might be optioned to Triple-A after throwing two innings in today’s game with Los Angeles, so LaSorsa would represent a fresh arm for Tampa’s bullpen.
An 18th-round pick for the Rays in the 2019 draft, LaSorsa has a 2.87 ERA over 203 2/3 career innings in the minors. That includes a 3.86 ERA over 21 innings with Durham this season, with LaSorsa starting three of his nine games in his first taste of Triple-A ball. His 8.4% walk rate and especially his low 13.7% strikeout rate don’t stand out, and neither Baseball America or MLB Pipeline rank the left-hander amongst Tampa Bay’s top 30 prospects.
That said, LaSorsa has better peripheral numbers in past minor league seasons, and his ability to eat multiple innings and dominate left-handed batters has clearly caught the Rays’ attention. As Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen put it in a preseason look at Tampa Bay’s farm system, LaSorsa’s fastball “only sits 84-86 but [he] commands the hell out of a plus slider and is nice LOOGY depth.”
The Rays have been rolling this season despite a relatively underwhelming performance from their bullpen, which sits in the bottom half of the league in several major statistical categories. While LaSorsa may not be the absolute answer to the Rays’ bullpen needs, the team’s enviable amount of minor league pitching depth gives them plenty of options as they shuffle arms and try to find the right reliever mix.