The Pittsburgh Pirates desperately need bullpen help, but if they are looking to their Triple-A affiliate for answers, they will have to cross a name off that list.

The team is reportedly trading reliever Joe La Sorsa to the Boston Red Sox. In exchange, the Pirates are getting everyone’s s favorite: cash considerations.

The move follows La Sorsa triggering the upward mobility clause in his contract days prior, which essentially forced the Pirates’ hand: either promote him to the active roster, or shop him around the league.

This was the second time the 28-year-old activated that clause in the minor league deal he signed in Pittsburgh. He also tried it right after spring training, hoping that four scoreless innings and a performance in the World Baseball Classic would help him land a major league gig.

Instead, he spent the first two months of the season in Triple-A Indianapolis, where in 26 innings he amassed a 3.46 ERA, 1.077 WHIP, and 3.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Only three times in his 22 appearances with the Indians did La Sorsa allow more than one run in a game; 17 times he pitched a scoreless outing.

Among the pitching staff in Indianapolis who pitched with any kind of regularity, La Sorsa was fourth best in ERA, third best in WHIP, and second best in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Since making his MLB debut in 2023, La Sorsa has pitched for a combined 57 inning across three different teams. In that work, he has a 5.21 ERA, 1.368 WHIP, and 2.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He most recently wore a major league uniform for Cincinnati, tossing 6.2 innings for the Reds last year.

Now, it appears he will get a chance to get back into the bigs, with the Red Sox set to put him on the roster as part of the deal. And the departure of La Sorsa comes at a time where the Pirates desperately need to address their bullpen woes.

Wednesday night’s loss in Houston was the latest example of a team that has blown 13 saves so far this season. Pittsburgh’s bullpen blew a five-run lead en route to a 11-9 loss.

It’s clear as day that the Pirates need to make multiple changes to the relief staff as currently constructed before they can be fully trusted again. And while the biggest move for that likely needs to be a trade for a surefire MLB arm, the organization could still tinker with Triple-A relievers.

La Sorsa, however, is no longer an option.

As a lefty, La Sorsa might have been fighting an uphill battle to get onto the major league roster in Pittsburgh. The Pirates already employ a trio of lefties in the bullpen, consisting of Gregory Soto, Evan Sisk, and Mason Montgomery. It’s rare to see a major league bullpen carry that many left-handers, although the Pirates did feature four left-handed relievers on their Opening Day roster two years ago.

However, given that the Pirates have promoted numerous arms with worse numbers than La Sorsa, it is still a little puzzling why he wasn’t given a chance.

Brandan Bidois had an ERA of 7.20 in Indianapolis this season before the Pirates called him up. Wilber Dotel was sporting a 5.32 mark at the time of his second promotion to Pittsburgh. Cam Sanders has a 3.77 ERA in Triple-A this season.

Obviously, the three of those arms have had different levels of success in the major leagues, and advanced metrics might make a better case for any of those players than they did for La Sorsa, but those numbers give the impression that the Pirates were willing to try despite less-than-ideal numbers with Indianapolis.