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Steven Souza

Dodgers Announce Wild Card Roster

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The Dodgers have announced the 10 pitchers and 16 position players that will comprise the roster for their wild card game with the Cardinals tonight.  Max Scherzer will make his first postseason start in a Dodgers uniform.

Left-handed pitchers

Right-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The injured Clayton Kershaw is of course prominent in his absence, and Walker Buehler and David Price are two other prominent arms absent from this hitter-heavy roster.  Buehler is being lined up to start Game One of the NLDS should the Dodgers advance.  With “only” 10 pitchers available, Los Angeles is counting on Scherzer to throw another gem, with Urias and Gonsolin on hand to provide depth if Scherzer falters.

With so many multi-position utility types on the roster, normal “infield/outfield” designations don’t mean as much for the likes of Taylor, McKinstry, Beaty, or even Lux.  The Dodgers are aiming to give manager Dave Roberts as much flexibility as possible in playing the matchups against St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals bullpen.  The Dodgers’ position player mix is also missing a key name due to a recent injury, as Max Muncy’s dislocated elbow will keep him out of at least the wild card game, though Roberts hasn’t closed the door on Muncy returning if L.A. gets deep enough into the postseason.

Dodgers Activate Clayton Kershaw, Designate Steven Souza Jr.

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The Dodgers announced they’ve activated Clayton Kershaw from the 60-day injured list to start this evening’s game against the Diamondbacks. To open active and 40-man roster space, outfielder Steven Souza Jr. has been designated for assignment.

Kershaw has been on the IL since July 7 due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. The three-time Cy Young award winner now returns after a couple months away in hopes of helping the team erase a two and a half game deficit in the NL West. With eighteen games remaining on the schedule, Los Angeles can probably expect three or four starts from Kershaw down the stretch.

The 33-year-old only made one minor league rehab appearance, tossing 49 pitches over three innings with Triple-A Oklahoma City last Tuesday. He’s probably not quite ready to work a traditional starter’s workload, although it wouldn’t be a surprise if manager Dave Roberts lets Kershaw get into the middle innings tonight against Arizona.

Kershaw’s no longer the undisputed best pitcher in baseball, as he was at his peak, but he’s still among the game’s most effective hurlers. Over 106 1/3 innings, the veteran southpaw has a 3.39 ERA with continued elite strikeout and walk rates (30.1% and 4.5%, respectively). Incredibly, that 3.39 mark is Kershaw’s highest single-season ERA since his 4.26 figure as a rookie way back in 2008.

Trade deadline acquisition Max Scherzer has been even more spectacular than usual since joining L.A. He’d pair with Cy Young candidate Walker Buehler, Kershaw and Julio Urías in what would be an extremely daunting postseason rotation. Of course, that firepower is only relevant if the Dodgers make it to an NL Division Series — either by catching the Giants for the division crown or winning a Wild Card game.

Souza is bumped from the roster just six days after being called up. It was the second promotion of the season for Souza, whose previous stay was also brief. Altogether, the veteran outfielder has tallied just 36 plate appearances at the big league level this season. He’s performed well with Oklahoma City, hitting .247/.387/.507 with nine homers in 186 trips to the plate.

It has been a tumultuous few seasons for Souza, who hasn’t been able to recapture the peak form he showed with the 2017 Rays. He scuffled in 2018 upon being traded to the Diamondbacks, then missed all of 2019 after suffering a severe knee injury in Spring Training. The 32-year-old has made it back to the bigs in each of the last two seasons but hasn’t gotten much playing time.

The Dodgers will place Souza on outright or release waivers in the coming days. If he passes through unclaimed, he’d have the right to elect free agency. Souza cleared waivers in July and decided to test the open market, although he rejoined the Dodgers on a minor league deal relatively shortly thereafter.

Dodgers Select Steven Souza Jr.

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The Dodgers announced they have selected outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to the big league club. Utilityman Zach McKinstry was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to open an active roster spot, while reliever Garrett Cleavinger has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man roster space.

Souza is up for his second stint of the season with L.A. Signed to a minor league deal at the end of Spring Training, Souza was promoted to the big leagues in mid-June. He wound up designated for assignment after just thirteen games. After passing through waivers and very briefly reaching free agency, Souza signed a new minors pact with the Dodgers and has been with Oklahoma City over the past couple months.

A seven-year big league veteran, Souza had a strong year with the Rays in 2017, hitting .239/.351/.459 and popping thirty homers. He floundered upon being traded to Arizona that offseason, though, and he hasn’t gotten much big league time since suffering a catastrophic knee injury in Spring Training of 2019 that cost him that entire season. The 32-year-old has performed well with Oklahoma City this season, though, hitting .247/.387/.504 with nine home runs and a massive 16.7% walk rate over 186 plate appearances at the minors’ top level. Because Souza was in the Dodgers’ organization by August 31, he will be eligible for their postseason roster even though his addition to the 40-man roster comes during the month of September.

Cleavinger landed on the 10-day IL on August 8 because of a right oblique strain. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date, so his regular season is officially over. Cleavinger could’ve theoretically make it back if the Dodgers go on a deep postseason run, but manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he won’t return this year. Acquired from the Phillies over the offseason, Cleavinger gave Los Angeles eighteen innings of eleven-run ball (six earned) in his first season with the club.

Dodgers Designate Steven Souza Jr. For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced Tuesday that they’ve designated veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr. for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for right-handed reliever Jake Reed, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Souza, 32, joined the Dodgers on a minor league deal back in mid-April after he was unable to win a roster spot with the Astros in Spring Training. The Dodgers called the former Rays slugger to the big leagues last month after he posted a mammoth .279/.444/.603 batting line with six homers, four doubles and 16 walks in 90 Triple-A plate appearances. Souza has functioned as a seldom-used bench piece and pinch-hitter, however, tallying just 28 plate appearances in 13 games and posting a .160/.250/.360 batting line in that time.

The past few years have been a roller coaster for Souza, who missed much of the 2018 season with pectoral injuries before suffering a catastrophic knee injury during Spring Training with the D-backs in 2019. Souza suffered tears of the ACL, LCL, PCL and posterolateral capsule in his left knee during a play at the plate and missed the entire season recovering from the subsequent surgery. That he’s been able to return to the Majors at all after such a devastating injury is a testament to his determination, but he’s yet to get a legitimate look with either the Cubs (for whom he played last summer) or the Dodgers, who now have a week to trade Souza, place him on outright waivers, or release him.

For the 28-year-old Reed, this will mark his first call to the Majors after eight years in pro ball. The former Oregon Duck was a fifth-round pick by the Twins back in 2014 and long rated as one of the organization’s more promising bullpen prospects. He posted video-game numbers in the lower minors before beginning to stumble at the Double-A level, although after spending a few seasons both there and in Triple-A, Reed’s numbers began to come around. He never parlayed that into a big league appearance with the Twins, however, and he’s now split the 2021 season between both L.A. clubs after first signing with the Angels as a minor league free agent.

Since being released from that deal and signing with the Dodgers, Reed has pitched 10 1/3 innings in OKC, holding opponents to three runs on 12 hits and just one walk with 11 punchouts. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, he’s pitched to a 3.89 ERA with a solid 26.1 percent strikeout rate, a slightly elevated 9.8 percent walk rate and a 41.4 percent ground-ball rate in 185 innings of relief.

Dodgers Select Steven Souza, Designate Nate Jones

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The Dodgers have selected the contract of outfielder Steven Souza Jr., and designated right-hander Nate Jones for assignment in the corresponding roster move.

Souza signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles in late March, a week after the Astros released him from another minors contract.  The 32-year-old has displayed plenty of pop at Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .279/.444/.603 with six home runs in 90 plate appearances for the Dodgers’ top farm team.

Best known for three solid years with the Rays from 2015-17, Souza has battled several injuries throughout his career, most notably a major knee injury that kept him out of action for the entire 2019 season.  He returned to play 11 games with the Cubs in 2020 before being released in September.  Souza will now move into a bench role for the World Series champions, as the Dodgers are in need of some outfield depth with Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list.

Jones was another minor league signing for the Dodgers back in May, after the Braves cut him loose after 12 appearances and 10 1/3 innings.  Jones overcame some major control and homer issues to post a 3.48 ERA in his brief time in Atlanta, but the bottom fell out in L.A. as Jones posted an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 innings in Dodger Blue.  Over 19 total innings in 2021, Jones has already surrendered seven homers, underlining a home run problem that has become increasingly dire over his last four seasons.

Since the start of the 2020 season, Jones has a 5.97 ERA and 12 home runs allowed in 37 2/3 total innings with the Dodgers, Braves, and Reds.  Once a borderline elite setup man during his heyday with the White Sox, Jones was hampered by numerous injuries, and he has tossed only 89 2/3 total innings over the last five seasons.

Dodgers, Steven Souza Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr., reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Souza, 31, spent the bulk of Spring Training with the Astros but didn’t make the team after going just 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts in 27 trips to the plate. The former Rays slugger is still working to establish himself after a disastrous 2019 knee injury derailed his career.

Then with the Diamondbacks, Souza was lined up to serve as the everyday right fielder in Arizona when he tore the ACL, LCL, PCL and posterolateral capsule in his left knee on a play at the plate late in Spring Training. The gruesome knee injury obviously required surgical repair and unsurprisingly wiped out his entire 2019 campaign. Souza rehabbed into the summer of 2020 and wound up resurfacing in the big leagues with the Cubs, but he hit just .148/.258/.333 in 31 plate appearances last year before being cut loose.

At his best, Souza was a solid right field defender with above-average power and plate discipline. He’s always been prone to strikeouts (31.5 percent), but his 2017 campaign produced a .239/.351/.459 batting line and a career-best 30 home runs for Tampa Bay. Three seasons have elapsed since that time, and Souza has been dogged by pectoral injuries in addition to that horrific knee injury since that peak season. Assuming he heads to Triple-A with the Dodgers once that season kicks off, he’ll finally be able to continue his rebound efforts in a normal game setting — something that wasn’t possible in 2020 with last year’s lack of a minor league season.

Astros To Release Steven Souza Jr.

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The Astros plan to release outfielder Steven Souza Jr., who has been in camp with them on a minor league deal, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. Souza has been vying for the fourth outfielder’s role alongside Jose Siri, Ronnie Dawson and Chas McCormick, but it seems his spring struggles have pushed the team in another direction.

Souza, 31, is 2-for-21 with a homer thus far in Spring Training. He’s drawn five walks and been hit by a pitch in 27 trips to the plate but has also punched out an alarming 13 times in that tiny sample of plate appearances.

Souza’s last full season at the MLB level was quite productive, but it also came back in 2017. He slashed .239/.351/.459 with 30 home runs for the Rays that year, prompting the D-backs to swing a trade for him in the offseason. But a pectoral injury limited his time on the field and productivity in 2018, and his 2019 season was wiped out by one of the most catastrophic knee injuries we’ve seen recent memory; Souza suffered tears of his ACL and LCL in play at the plate that also left him with a partial PCL tear and a posterolateral capsule tear. He returned to the big leagues with the Cubs last year but struggled through 31 plate appearances before being cut loose.

The Astros entered the winter with an entire outfield’s worth of free agents, as George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick all hit the market. Springer went to Toronto, Brantley re-signed in Houston, and Reddick remains unsigned. With Brantley back in the fold, the ’Stros are looking at him in left field, Kyle Tucker in right field and speedster Myles Straw as the primary center fielder. McCormick is the likeliest option to break camp as the team’s fourth outfielder, given his ability to play center field and given that he’s the only player in that competition who is already on the team’s 40-man roster.

Quick Hits: Cishek, Souza, Herrera

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As spring training games continue and we inch closer to the 2021 season, let’s check in on a couple of notes from around the game…

  • Veterans Steve Cishek and Steven Souza Jr. are working to make the Astros’ roster out of camp, but their chances took a hit yesterday with the signing of Jake Odorizzi, writes the Athletic’s Jake Kaplan. Cishek would make a $2.25MM salary were he to make the team, while Souza would earn $1.15MM. The Astros very much prefer to stay under the luxury tax to avoid the worsening of the draft pick compensation they might receive if Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, or Lance McCullers Jr. are offered (and decline) a qualifying offer at year’s end. While the terms of Odorizzi’s deal are not yet known, it’s likely to take them close to the $210 luxury tax threshold.
  • With Adam Haseley on the injured list and likely to miss opening day, Odubel Herrera has jumped into pole position to be the guy in center when the season starts, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was an All-Star in the grass in 2017, but an 85-game suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy in 2019 derailed his once-promising career. Said manager Joe Girardi on Herrera’s chances to make the team, “We’re not allowed to punish anyone more than what MLB did. If Odubel doesn’t make the team, it would be what we would consider probably a lack of performance or we’d be more comfortable with getting a few more at-bats. That sort of thing. He’s in the running just like a lot of other guys.” The 29-year-old fell off dramatically after posting a 107 wRC+ from 2015 to 2017. He has not appeared in a big-league game since May 2019.

Astros To Sign Steven Souza To Minor-League Deal

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The Astros are in agreement on a deal with outfielder Steven Souza Jr., reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). It’s a minor-league deal, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Souza’s deal comes with an invitation to major league spring training, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

Souza once looked like a potential core piece on the heels of a strong three-year run with the Rays, culminating in a .239/.351/.459 (121 wRC+), 30-homer season in 2017. After that campaign, the Diamondbacks acquired Souza in a three-team trade involving Tampa Bay and the Yankees.

Unfortunately, the move didn’t pan out. Souza struggled with both injuries and underperformance in 2018, then suffered a devastating knee injury near the end of the following spring training. That ended his 2019 season before it began; the Diamondbacks non-tendered him that winter. Souza did manage to return to the big leagues in 2020 after signing a one-year deal with the Cubs. His stay in Chicago lasted only eleven games, though, thanks in part to another stint on the injured list (this time for a hamstring strain).

It has now been three years since Souza’s managed a full, healthy season. Nevertheless, there’s no risk for the Astros in bringing the 31-year-old in on a non-roster deal and giving him an opportunity to compete for a job in spring training. It looks to be a decent landing spot for Souza, as there’s little depth in the Astros’ corner outfield behind projected starters Michael Brantley and Kyle Tucker.

Steven Souza Changes Agencies

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Free agent outfielder Steven Souza Jr. has hired Moye Sports Associates to represent him moving forward, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. He’d previously been with ACES.

Souza, 31, returned from a catastrophic knee injury in 2020 and struggled through a rough showing with the Cubs, hitting just .148/.258/.333 in a tiny sample of 31 plate appearances. Some struggles were to be expected after Souza suffered not only a torn ACL but a torn LCL, partially torn PCL and a torn posterolateal capsule in his right knee during a Spring Training game with the D-backs in 2019. The gruesome knee injury shelved Souza for the entire season and could very well have put his future in the game in jeopardy, given the extent of the damage, but he was thankfully at least able to work back to the field in 2020.

Given the recent history of injuries and Souza’s down showing with the Cubs, a minor league pact seems likely this winter. It’s been awhile since we saw him at his best due not only to that knee injury but also a pectoral issue in 2018, but Souza did give the Rays a strong .239/.351/.459 slash with 30 big flies back in 2017. He has a strong defensive track record in right field as well, although a knee injury of that magnitude will of course give clubs some reason for trepidation.

Souza’s switch in representation has been updated in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains information on more than 2500 Major League and Minor League players. We do our best to keep it up to date, though the frequency with which players hire new representation makes that an uphill battle. If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

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