The Tigers introduced that they’ve claimed left-hander Bennett Sousa off waivers from the Brewers and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. They already had a emptiness on their 40-man roster after lately outrighting infielder Isan Díaz. The Brewers had not beforehand introduced that Sousa was faraway from their roster, so their 40-man depend drops to 39.
Sousa, 28, was a tenth spherical decide of the White Sox in 2018 and was with that group till the beginning of this yr, however the previous six months have been pretty tumultuous for him. He was designated for task in February, went to the Reds on a waiver declare, then to the Brewers in a money deal in April. He served as an up-and-down pitcher for Milwaukee earlier than touchdown on the injured checklist in June as a consequence of left shoulder nerve irritation, solely getting reinstated a couple of weeks again.
Amid all of that, he’s solely made two main league appearances this yr. He additionally made 25 for the White Sox final yr however has a profession earned run common of 9.00 in his 23 innings between these two campaigns. However in his bigger pattern of minor league work, he’s proven a functionality to get each strikeouts and floor balls, although additionally with a justifiable share of walks. In 17 innings for Triple-A Nashville this yr, he had a 4.76 ERA, 31.5% strikeout charge, 9.6% stroll charge and 58.5% floor ball charge. In 27 1/3 innings for Triple-A Charlotte final yr, he posted a 3.95 ERA, 30.2% strikeout charge, 10.3% stroll charge and 51.5% grounder charge.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris lately hinted that the membership’s open roster spot could be used for an exterior addition moderately than for calling up a prospect from inside the system. Plainly Sousa is that transfer, although he’s been optioned to Toledo for now, offering the membership with some left-handed reduction depth. With rosters increasing from 26 to twenty-eight when the calendar flips to September, the membership will nonetheless should determine who will get these lively roster spots. Sousa can nonetheless be optioned for the remainder of this yr and one further season.
