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-90’s 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…
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