Nationals select Joe La Sorsa, place Derek Law on 15-day IL

TODAY: The Nationals have officially announced that La Sorsa’s contract has been selected. In other moves, right-handed Joan Adon was also called up from Triple-A, while the Nationals signed the left-hander Robert Garcia on the mourning list and places right-handed Derek Law on the 15-day injured list due to a strained flexor muscle in the right elbow area.

Despite how serious Law’s injury sounds, he told reporters (including Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post) that he expects to be back in 5-6 days. Law’s elbow has been sore for over a week since he pitched in the Nationals’ 9-5 loss to the Giants on August 8 in rainy conditions.

16 AUGUST: Left-handed reliever Joe LaSorsa is on his way from Triple-A Rochester to the Nationals, according to Andrew Golden of the Washington Post (X-Link). However, Golden notes that La Sorsa may not be activated for tonight’s game. MLBTR has confirmed that La Sorsa is indeed heading to Philadelphia to join the Nats, and a source says his contract will be selected after tonight’s game. He will be officially added to the roster tomorrow. The Nats have two vacancies on the 40-man roster, so they only need to make a corresponding move on the 26-man roster to accommodate the left-hander.

La Sorsa, 26, appeared in 25 major league games in his MLB debut last season, posting a 4.41 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate and a 6.2% walk rate in 32 1/3 innings between the Rays and Nats. Washington outrighted him from the 40-man roster in December but kept him as a non-roster player in Triple-A all season.

Things are going well for La Sorsa with the Red Wings. He has played in 42 games and pitched 56 innings as a relief pitcher, posting a pristine 2.25 earned run average. His 18.2% strikeout rate is several percentage points below average there, but he has made up for the lack of misses with precise control (4.9% walk rate) and a respectable number of grounders (50.9%). La Sorsa now has career ERAs under 3.00 at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

The Nats already have a pair of left-handers in the bullpen in Robert Garcia And José A. Ferrerthough the latter has struggled significantly since returning from a lengthy stint on the 60-day injured list due to a lat strain. However the Nats decide to make room for him, La Sorsa should get a legitimate audition down the stretch. If he performs well over the final five weeks of the 2024 season, it’s easy to imagine the Nats keeping him on the 40-man roster this time around. La Sorsa still has two years of minor league eligibility left, so he could be a roving backup for manager Davey Martinez next year, even if he hasn’t yet earned a permanent spot in the bullpen.