The Boston Red Sox are absolutely on fire, riding a mind-blowing seven-game winning streak and sitting pretty with a 94.2% chance of making the postseason. So naturally, they just cut a pitcher. Yeah, you read that right. On Thursday, the Red Sox announced they released left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa, a move that dropped just before they wrapped up their series against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. It’s wild, right? You’re on a heater, playing some of your best baseball, and you make a move like this.
One Game in, Then Out: The La Sorsa Story
So who is Joe La Sorsa? He’s a 28-year-old lefty reliever who barely got his feet wet in Boston. The Red Sox picked him up from the Pittsburgh Pirates in June, and he made exactly one Major League appearance for them, pitching against the New York Yankees on June 7. That’s it. One game. While his big league career in Boston was a blink and you missed it kind of deal, the dude actually had some solid numbers down in Triple-A this season. We’re talking a 2.78 ERA with 26 strikeouts and seven walks over 32 1/3 minor-league innings across 28 appearances, including two starts. Those are not garbage numbers, not at all. But, according to the team, their “improving health and evolving pitching plans” basically left La Sorsa with no clear path back to the big league roster. Sounds like a tough break for a guy who was just trying to stick. He’d been bouncing around too, from the Rays who drafted him in 2019, to the Nationals, Reds, Mets, and Pirates before landing in Boston for a brief minute. His strong minor-league stats might still grab some attention from other clubs looking for lefty bullpen help, which is always a hot commodity in this league.
Boston’s Wild Ride and What This Means
Let’s not forget the incredible run the Red Sox are on. This decision to let La Sorsa go happened right smack dab in the middle of their best stretch all season. They just beat the White Sox 4-0 on Wednesday, bagging their seventh straight win and securing another series victory for interim manager Chad Tracy’s squad. Think about this: Boston was 10 games *below* .500 at one point, and now they’re sitting 11 games *above* it with a 62-51 record. That is a straight-up Cinderella story happening right before our eyes in the American League playoff race. They’re third in the AL East, staring down the Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees, but they’ve got that huge 94.2% chance of reaching the postseason. This isn’t about clearing space for a superstar, it’s about fine-tuning a roster when every single decision matters.
The Red Sox stay home at Fenway Park and kick off a three-game series against the Athletics on Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Joe La Sorsa might not be part of Boston’s playoff push anymore, but his release screams one thing: this team is no longer messing around with depth evaluations. They are dead serious about building a contender to keep this dramatic midseason turnaround rolling all the way to October.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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