Free agency has barely begun across Major League Baseball, but a select few players have already chosen to sign with new teams for the upcoming season.
For every major leaguer to hit free agency when any given season ends, there’s a handful of minor-leaguers. On Thursday alone, the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate lost 12 players to free agency, including several players with some big-league experience under their belts.
Already, one of those players has elected to join a new organization after less than two months with the Mets: left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa.
On Saturday, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that La Sorsa had signed a minor-league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, including an invitation to major league spring training. He is set to make $800,000 in the major leagues if he gets added to the 40-man roster.
La Sorsa isn’t a household name by any means, but he’s pitched in the majors in each of the last three seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, and Cincinnati Reds. He sports a lifetime 5.21 ERA in 46 outings, and has struck out 44 batters in 57 1/3 innings.
If there’s any particular moment baseball fans remember La Sorsa by, it’s probably his wild strikeout celebration in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Team Italy, when he escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam to preserve a five-run lead that the Italians needed to keep to ensure they would advance to the quarterfinals based on tiebreakers.
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La Sorsa finished the season with a 2.59 ERA in 49 appearances at the Triple-A level, so at a minimum, he should be able to give the Pirates some valuable organizational depth. But if he takes the next step to becoming a quality big-league reliever in his age-28 season, Pittsburgh will have a steal on its hands, since it cost virtually nothing to get him.
More MLB: Cubs World Series Champion, Former 1st-Round Pick Elects Free Agency