The Washington Nationals claimed left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

La Sorsa, 25, posted a 2.08 ERA (1 ER/4.1 IP) with three strikeouts and three walks in two relief appearances with the Rays this season. He had his contract selected on May 28 and made his Major League debut the next day vs. Chicago (NL), tossing 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.

La Sorsa went 2–1 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 games (three starts) between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham before joining the Major League club. Opposing left-handed batters went 7-for-32 (.219) with one double, two walks, and eight strikeouts against him prior to his contract having been selected.

A native of Jamaica, New York, La Sorsa was selected in the 18th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of St. John’s University. He is 16–10 with 13 saves, a 2.87 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, and a .216 opponents’ batting average in 99 games (10 starts) across four Minor League seasons (2019–23).