The Pittsburgh Pirates have a strong bullpen. Between Dennis Santana, Gregory Soto, Isaac Mattson, Justin Lawrence, and Mason Montgomery, their core relievers could form one of the most formidable pens in the sport. However, the Pirates have yet another interesting arm in the organization, and are at risk of losing him. Left-hander Joe La Sorsa has an upward mobility clause that activates at the end of Spring Training. If the Pirates do not add him to their Opening Day roster, they must trade him to a team that will.
The Bucs signed La Sorsa to a minor league contract in November. The Southpaw hasn’t performed very well in the Major Leagues, owning a 5.21 ERA, 5.39 FIP, and 1.37 WHIP for three teams (Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds) since making his debut in 2023. La Sorsa has a strong 6.3% walk rate, 86.6 MPH exit velocity, and 5.9% barrel rate, but has struck out just 17.5% of opponents. Despite his outstanding exit velo and barrel percentage, La Sorsa has a 1.74 HR/9 ratio.
La Sorsa has spent most of his pre-season with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. His stuff under the management of former Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli has looked good. The lefty is throwing his sweeper with about two more inches of vertical break compared to last year. His fastball has also gained about an inch of arm-side run with better vertical ride. La Sorsa’s change-up also has better horizontal movement compared to last year.
Another positive is that La Sorsa is throwing harder. In 2023 and 2024, his sinker sat around 88 MPH, and his fastball averaged out at about 90 MPH. In 2025, he upped his sinker velocity to 91.7 MPH, and his four-seam velo to 92.5 MPH. During the WBC and Spring Training, La Sorsa is still sitting around 91.5 MPH with his sinker, but now averaging out around 93 MPH with his four-seam fastball. La Sorsa throws from a low arm angle, coming in at 25 degrees in 2025.
Letting La Sorsa go may not seem like a huge loss, but the Pirates have done very well in turning depth relievers into legitimate relief arms. The Pirates won’t know if La Sorsa can be another successful breakout reliever if they let him go. Even if he is only used as a low-leverage reliever, the Pirates have to have some bullpen depth. They would definitely be losing an interesting arm with improving velocity and movement by moving on from La Sorsa.
