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Red Sox Add Bullpen Depth in Trade with Pirates
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- Red Sox Add Bullpen Depth in Trade with Pirates
The Boston Red Sox are not waiting for the MLB trade deadline to start making changes to their roster.
On Thursday, the team added southpaw Joe La Sorsa in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates , as first reported by Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. In exchange for La Sorsa, the Red Sox are sending Pittsburgh cash considerations. Boston will need to make room on its 40-man roster for the pitcher, and expect him to be available on Friday when the team opens a three game-set at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees .
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La Sorsa, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in November 2025 and has been pitching in relief at Triple-A Indianapolis. In 22 appearances this year, La Sorsa has posted a 1-1 record with a 3.81 ERA and 1.077 WHIP in 26.0 innings. In 2025, La Sorsa played with the Cincinnati Reds with limited success in his five appearances. La Sorsa had a 10.80 ERA and 2.250 WHIP, while giving up four home runs and nine runs (eight earned) in just 6.2 innings. The lefty has also pitched for the Washington Nationals and the Tampa Bay Rays in his three-year MLB career.
The New York native suited up for Team Italy at the past two World Baseball Classic tournaments. He appeared in four games at this year's WBC during Italy's surprising run that saw the country finish in fourth place after losing to the eventual champions from Venezuela in the Semi-finals and the Dominican Republic in the bronze medal game.
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La Sorsa joins a bullpen that has been performing surprisingly well this year, given the team's poor record (26-35). The Red Sox pen has the eighth-best ERA among MLB bullpens , tied with their division rivals in the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays . La Sorsa is set to join Danny Coloumbe, Jovani Moran and closer Aroldis Chapman as the fourth lefty in the bullpen.
The trade also comes on the same day that the Red Sox announced they have called up veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle from Triple-A Worcester. The former Yankee signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in spring training that included a June 1st opt-out clause if he was not called up to the majors. The Red Sox needed to make a decision, and opted to bring the 36-year-old back to the big-leagues. In 18 minor league games this year, Kahnle had a very respectable 1.40 ERA and converted all five save opportunities.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
