Pirates Trade LHP to Red Sox for Cash Considerations
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a recent roster move that saw a veteran southpaw join another team.
The Pirates announced that they traded left-handed relief pitcher Joe La Sorsa to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations on June 4.
La Sorsa triggered his upward mobility clause in the past few days, which required the Pirates to either place him on the 26-man roster or offer him up to all 29 other MLB teams.
The Pirates trading La Sorsa shows that the Red Sox had extra interest in him and didn’t want to wait for another team to get him.
It was also the second time that La Sorsa triggered his upward mobility clause, doing so at the end of Spring Training, but no team took a chance on him before Opening Day
Should the Pirates Have Brought Up La Sorsa?
The Pirates are looking for bullpen help and there’s always a chance that La Sorsa could’ve been part of the solution.
La Sorsa had a decent showing with Triple-A Indianapolis this season, with a 3.60 ERA in 25.0 innings pitched, 21 strikeouts to six walks, a .211 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.12 WHIP.
He’s a veteran pitcher who has experience in two World Baseball Classics with Team Italy and thrown for three other MLB teams in the Tampa Bay Rays, the Washington Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds.
His MLB tenure hasn’t seen much success, which is why he’s bounce around a bit in recent years, looking for stability at each stop.
La Sorsa has posted a 5.21 ERA over 46 appearances and 57.0 innings pitched, with a .273 batting average allowed and a 1.37 WHIP.
The Pirates would’ve Brought up La Sorsa if they felt strongly enough about him, but with him not even on the 40-man roster, it’s likely they weren’t willing to DFA someone for him.
What the Pirates Bullpen Currently Looks Like
The Pirates employ eight different pitchers in their bullpen, with three left-handers in Mason Montgomery, Evan Sisk and Gregory Soto, plus five right-handed pitchers in Brandan Bidois, Wilber Dotel, Carmen Mlodzinski, Yohan Ramírez and Dennis Santana
Pittsburgh has not gotten the desired results out of their bullpen so far, resulting in blown leads and tough outings overall.
They designated Justin Lawrence for assignment on May 31 and then traded him to the Minnesota Twins on June 2, following a 5.23 ERA from him.
Pittsburgh also sent Isaac Mattson down to Triple-A and following a rough stretch of outings and are prepared to do what they can to make a better bullpen.
The Pirates have gotten great showings from rookies in Sisk and Dotel and with Mlodzinski returning to the bullpen, their could be some improved performances along the way.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.