Joe La Sorsa

Note: This page discusses 2020s pitcher Joe La Sorsa. For the 1969-1970 minor league pitcher Joe Lasorsa, click here.

Joseph Peter La Sorsa
also called Joseph Peter LaSorsa

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 5", Weight 215 lb.
• School St. John's University
• High School Iona Prep
• Debut May 29, 2023

• Born April 29, 1998 in Mount Kisco, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Joe La Sorsa pitched for the Italian national team before making his major league debut in 2023.

He was 9-2 with a 1.01 ERA and hit .326 as a high school senior. As a freshman, he was 7-1 with a save and a 2.34 ERA and was second-team All-Big East Conference. Only Sean Mooney had more wins by a Big East pitcher that year.

LaSorsa was 4-0 with 7 saves and a 2.09 ERA as a sophomore, tying Bobby Kametas for 4th in the Big East Conference in saves. In the Cape Cod League, he had a 3-2, 5.79 record for the Harwich Mariners. His junior year, he was 6-5 with a save and a 1.66 ERA, winning All-Big East. He was 7th in NCAA Division I in ERA. The Tampa Bay Rays took him in the 18th round of the 2019 amateur draft and signed for a $95,000 bonus. The scout was Zach Clark.

In his pro debut, he was 5-3 with a save and a 2.23 ERA for the Hudson Valley Renegades. He tied for fifth in the New York-Penn League in wins. The 2020 minor league season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Yorker split 2021 between the Charleston RiverDogs (0-2, 4 Sv, 2.41 in 19 G) and Bowling Green Hot Rods (2-1, 4.71 in 12 G). In '22, he was with Bowling Green (4-3, 7 Sv, 1.62 in 21 G) and the Montgomery Biscuits (3-0, Sv, 3.15 in 19 G). He fanned 87 and walked 10 in 73 1/3 IP, with a 0.82 WHIP. He was 6th in the Rays chain in saves.

He then joined Italy for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. His three games pitched would tie for the team lead. In his debut, he relieved Vinny Nittoli in the 7th with one out, one on and a 2-1 lead over Cuba. He hit Dayán García then Yoelkis Guibert hit into a force and Yoán Moncada went down swinging. Matt Festa took over in the 8th. He came up big in the last game of pool play, with a quarterfinal spot at stake against the Netherlands. He succeeded Andre Pallante with the bases loaded in the 6th and no one out, with three MLB vets coming up. He got Didi Gregorius to pop up then struck out Jonathan Schoop and Roger Bernadina to escape the jam. Nittoli took over for him and Italy advanced to the next round. Against the powerful Samurai Japan team that won the title, LaSorsa's hot tourney went cold. He relieved Ryan Castellani in the third of a scoreless game and retired Lars Nootbaar but then walked Kensuke Kondoh and made a throwing error on a bunt by Shohei Ohtani. Masataka Yoshida grounded in one run, Munetaka Murakami walked and Kazuma Okamoto hit a three-run bomb. Shugo Maki grounded out but the damage was done and LaSorsa would take the loss to Ohtani; Pallante replaced him in the 4th.

He made his major league debut with the Rays on May 29, 2023, pitching two scoreless innings of relief in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs in which Marcus Stroman pitched a one-hitter for the Cubs.

Related Sites

• Joe La Sorsa on mlb.com
• BR Minors page