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Josh Sborz

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Josh Sborz
Sborz with the Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2018
Texas Rangers – No. 66
Pitcher
Born: (1993-12-17) December 17, 1993 (age 30)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 20, 2019, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through August 3, 2024)
Win–loss record13–12
Earned run average4.93
Strikeouts192
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Joshua Alan Sborz (/spɔːrz/ SPORZ;[1] born December 17, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted 74th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft and played for the Dodgers in 2019 and 2020. Sborz played college baseball at the University of Virginia.

Amateur career

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Sborz attended McLean High School in McLean, Virginia. He played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher and an infielder, and received all-state and all-Met honors twice. Additionally, he was named Group AAA state Player of the Year in 2012.[2] Sborz committed to playing college baseball at the University of Virginia.

As a freshman with the Cavaliers, Sborz mainly pitched out of the bullpen. He made 30 appearances for Virginia, which was the 10th most in team history.[3] Sborz joined the UVA rotation during his sophomore season and made 15 starts.[4] He started Game 3 of the College World Series finals against Vanderbilt.[5] In 2013 and 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6][7]

For his junior season, Sborz was moved back to the bullpen and was named the team's closer. As a result of injuries to the starting rotation, Sborz made two starts towards the end of the regular season. He ended the regular season with a 2.49 ERA and was tied with Florida State's Billy Strode for the ACC lead in saves with 12.[8] For his accomplishments, Sborz was named to the All-ACC second-team.[9] On May 19, 2015, he threw a one-hit shutout against Georgia Tech in an ACC Tournament play-in game.[10] Sborz was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player following UVA's championship run in the 2015 College World Series. He recorded three wins and a save in four games; pitching 13 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts, four walks and seven hits allowed.[11]

Professional career

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Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Sborz in the second round of the 2015 MLB draft.[12] The Dodgers announced his signing on July 8, 2015.[13] He was assigned to the rookie level Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League to start his career.[14] After pitching in two games for the Raptors he was promoted to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League.[15] He also made two starts for the Loons and was 0–1 with a 2.84 ERA leading to his promotion again, to the Advanced Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League on August 14.[16] In nine relief appearances for the Quakes he allowed two runs in 12 innings.[17] He remained with the Quakes for the start of the 2016 season[18] and pitched in 20 games, 19 of which were starts. He was 8–4 with a 2.66 ERA[17] and was named to the mid-season[19] and post-season California League All-Star teams as well as the league pitcher of the year.[20] He was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League at the end of the season and made 10 relief appearances with them, for a 3.78 ERA.[17]

Sborz with the Tulsa Drillers in 2016

Sborz spent all of 2017 with Tulsa where he started 24 games with an 8–8 record, 3.86 ERA and 81 strikeouts.[17] In 2018, he appeared in 46 games (all in relief) for Tulsa and AAA Oklahoma City with a 4–2 record and 3.88 ERA with six saves.[17] The Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.[21]

Sborz was called up to the Majors for the first time on April 14, 2019,[22] but was optioned back to AAA on April 20 without appearing in any games.[23] He was called back up to the majors on June 20[24] and made his debut that night. After pitching a scoreless eighth inning. Sborz allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in the following inning without getting an out.[25] He appeared in seven total games in the majors in 2019, pitching nine innings and allowing eight runs to score.[26] He spent most of the season with AAA Oklahoma City, where he was 4–3 with a 4.68 ERA in 50 innings (over 46 appearances) with three saves.[17]

The minor league season was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Sborz spent most of the season at the Dodgers alternate training site,[27] only appearing in four games in the Majors. He worked 41⁄3 innings, striking out two and walking one.[26] The only run he allowed all season was a solo home run by Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres.[28] Sborz was designated for assignment on February 11, 2021.[29]

Texas Rangers

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On February 16, 2021, Sborz was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Jhan Zambrano.[30] Over 59 innings for Texas in 2021, Sborz posted a 4–3 record with a 3.97 ERA while striking out 69 batters.[31] Sborz split the 2022 season between Texas and the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. With Texas he posted a 1–0 record with a 6.45 ERA over 22+1⁄3 innings; with Round Rock he went 3–0 with a 1.61 ERA over 22+1⁄3 innings.[32]

Notably, Sborz was a member of the Texas Rangers' 2023 postseason run. He had a 0.75 ERA through 10 games, pitching 12 innings.[33] Sborz pitched the last 7 outs of the 2023 World Series, striking out Ketel Marte looking for the final out. It was the second save of Sborz' career.

Sborz was removed from a game against the Houston Astros on April 7, 2024, and placed on the 15-day injured list with right rotator cuff strain.[34]

Personal life

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Josh's parents are John and Tina Sborz. He has two sisters, Chrissy and Heather, and an older brother, Jay, who pitched for eight years in the Detroit Tigers organization. Chrissy is a licensed insurance professional.[3]

On November 12, 2020, he married Alexis Shaffer,[35] a former women's soccer player who had been named Atlantic Coast Conference midfielder and offensive player of the year in 2016 and was selected 25th overall by FC Kansas City in the 2017 NWSL College Draft.[36] They have one child together.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "Rangers recall RHP Josh Sborz from alternate training site, place RHP Kyle Cody on 10-day injured list," MLB.com, Sunday, April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021
  2. ^ Facinoli, Dave (June 13, 2012). "McLean Baseball Player Chosen Virginia's Finest by the Coaches". InsideNova.com. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Josh Sborz UVA Bio". virginiasports.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  4. ^ White, Jeff (January 29, 2015). "Sborz Embraces New Role in Bullpen". virginiasports.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  5. ^ Giannotto, Mark (June 26, 2014). "College World Series: Virginia falls short against Vanderbilt in Game 3 of final series". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  6. ^ "#27 Josh Sborz". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "#28 Josh Sborz - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Ramspacher, Andrew (May 18, 2015). "Sborz gets start for Virginia's ACC Tournament opener". The Daily Progress. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  9. ^ "2015 ACC Baseball Honors Announced". Atlantic Coast Conference. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  10. ^ Associated Press (May 19, 2015). "Sborz throws 1-hitter, UVa beats GT 11-0 at ACC tourney". USA Today. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "Virginia reliever Josh Sborz headlines the 2015 CWS All-Tournament team". NCAA. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  12. ^ Gurnick, Ken (June 9, 2015). "Hard-throwing Sborz goes 74th to Dodgers". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  13. ^ Stephen, Eric (July 8, 2015). "Dodgers sign Josh Sborz & Philip Pfeifer". SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  14. ^ Hajek, James (July 25, 2015). "Rockies Pitching Stifles Raptors". milb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  15. ^ Bernreuter, Hugh (July 30, 2015). "Dodgers promote College World Series MVP Josh Sborz to Loons". mlive.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  16. ^ Bernreuter, Hugh (August 14, 2015). "Dodger promotions include prospects Alex Verdugo, Josh Sborz". mlive.com. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "Josh Sborz minor league statistics & history". Baseball Reference.
  18. ^ Walton, Ryan (April 4, 2016). "Rancho Cucamonga opening day roster highlighted by Grant Holmes, Yusniel Diaz". SB Nation. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  19. ^ "TWO QUAKES NAMED 2016 CAL LEAGUE ALL-STARS". milb.com. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  20. ^ Lindskog, Mike (August 24, 2016). "Quakes with 5 All-Stars, Sborz is Pitcher of the Year". Milb.com. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  21. ^ Gurnick, Ken (November 20, 2018). "Prospect Ruiz among 5 added to 40-man roster". mlb.com. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  22. ^ Minami, Craig (April 14, 2019). "Dodgers recall pitcher Josh Sborz from OKC". SB Nation. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  23. ^ Minami, Craig (April 20, 2019). "Hyun-jin Ryu returns to start today". SB Nation. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  24. ^ Gurnick, Ken (June 20, 2019). "Hill placed on IL with forearm strain". mlb.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  25. ^ Mike Digiovanna (June 20, 2019). "Dodgers' bullpen almost blows it in win over the Giants". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Josh Sborz Stats". Baseball Reference.
  27. ^ Starkand, Daniel (September 9, 2020). "Dodgers News: Josh Sborz Benefitting From Changing Arm Slot". Dodger Blue. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  28. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres Box Score, September 14, 2020". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  29. ^ Stephen, Eric (February 11, 2021). "Dodgers designate Josh Sborz for assignment". SB Nation. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  30. ^ "Dodgers trade right-hander Josh Sborz to Texas Rangers". OC Register. February 16, 2021.
  31. ^ Weaver, Levi (October 4, 2021). "Grading the 2021 Texas Rangers: Pitchers edition". The Athletic. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  32. ^ Postins, Matthew (November 13, 2022). "Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Josh Sborz". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  33. ^ "Josh Sborz Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  34. ^ "Texas Rangers place reliever Josh Sborz on injured list". Associated Press. April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  35. ^ a b "Joshua Alan Sborz". MLB.com. Retrieved July 21, 2023. Joshua Alan Sborz…he and his wife, the former Alexis Shaffer (m. 11/12/20), have a son named Werth (b. 7/28/21)…Josh and Alexis met at the University of Virginia, where Josh played baseball and Alexis played soccer.
  36. ^ "Alexis Shaffer" (Press release). FC Kansas City. January 12, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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