I recently spoke with former St. John’s stand-out and current Tampa Bay Rays’ prospect Joe LaSorsa about his time in pro ball and the state of minor leagues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LaSora is a native of Westchester County, playing his high school ball for the Iona Prep Gaels in New Rochelle. He would then move on to pitch at St. John’s University, where the left-hander would make a name for himself. In his junior season, LaSorsa posted 1.66 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 86 2/3 IP to go along with a 6-5 record in 14 starts, while holding opponents to a minuscule .199 BA.
It was that breakout performance which caught the attention of Tampa Bay and prompted them to select LaSorsa in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB draft. After signing with the Rays’ thereafter, LaSorsa was assigned to the New York-Penn League’s Hudson Valley Renegades.
LaSorsa was named an All-Star in the Class-A short season, pitching to a 2.23 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched as a reliever for the Renegades.
The 6-foot-5 left-hander commands a fastball along with a changeup, which is considered to be his best pitch. In order to try and take himself to the next level, LaSorsa spent the offseason developing a slider which he hoped to become a third “wipe out” pitch.
In spring training, he began to “Showcase that pitch a little bit in pens and during live BP, and it was working well…just unfortunate all that hard work had to come to a halt.”
And come to a halt it certainly has.
Thanks to a combination of unfortunate circumstances, most minor league players don’t make anything close to a livable wage. As a result, many of them cannot provide for themselves or their families.
These issues are not new by any means, but through social media we have seen people begin to create awareness and advocate (like former Mets’ great Ty Kelly) for fair pay and benefits for all minor leaguers not on major league contracts.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though the folks in the Commissioner’s office share that same sentiment. Instead of improving the conditions across the minor leagues, Rob Manfred has suggested dismantling over 40 MiLB clubs as a way to increase minor league player salaries.
When I asked LaSorsa if he had any insight on this, he said, “There’s been some rumors and speculation about it, and if that is going to be a possibility, then the level I was playing at last summer would technically be dismantled.”
What does that mean to LaSorsa and his teammates?
“I guess it just means that we have to get even better now, and try to move up to a level as quickly as possible where there will keep a team.”
With the dismantling of the lower levels seeming more and more likely, partnered with the agreement to shorten the MLB draft all the way down to just five rounds for at least 2020 and 2021, you cant help but be frightened for the future of our great pastime.
I asked LaSorsa what it’s been like dealing with so much uncertainty and what the MiLB is doing to keep them updated for the 2020 season.
“I think league-wide we’re all pretty much in the dark” he said, adding, “Each Sunday I get a message telling us what’s going on for the week and what we’re supposed to do but that’s really it.”
As far as a possible return to the ballpark, LaSorsa said, “We have no idea when we’ll be able to go back, if at all.”
It was announced on March 31st by the MLB that they will continue its “League wide-financial support for minor league players through May 31st or until the beginning of the minor league season — whichever comes first.”
If the minor-league season is canceled, however, baseball is not required to continue playing players beyond the May 31st date.
Now, what has the training regiment been like with so much up in the air you might ask?
“We’re in limbo right now with that too. It’s pretty much a waiting game and we really don’t know what to do.”
He added that, “As far as throwing and conditioning goes, we still aren’t sure if we should go back into an offseason mentality, or stay ready to be called to go back in the near future, and that’s the frustrating part — but we’re doing what we can to keep up our arm strength and conditioning.”
All I can say is — what a mess. These near-sighted and heavily flawed proposals have been on the table since before the pandemic, but it’s saddening to think that the Commissioner would try and use this time of uncertainty to dismantle minor league baseball.
By doing so, they would destroy the life-blood of the sport by needlessly taking away hundreds of players opportunity to play professional baseball. We must continue to advocate for players like LaSorsa and so many others who have busted their butts to have a chance to live out their dreams of playing in the MLB.
If we truly care about the future of professional baseball, then our focus needs to be on improving a system that easily has the potential to be allow for minor league players to live comfortably while still competing to one day play in the majors — not dismantling half the system for a quick fix.
