The Los Angeles Dodgers re-signed veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to a Minor League contract and he was placed on Triple-A Oklahoma City’s roster.
The 32-year-old was designated for assignment on July 6 when the Dodgers selected the contract of Jake Reed. Souza cleared waivers and wound up being released on July 11.
Originally a third-round pick, 100th overall, of the Washington Nationals in the 2007 MLB Draft, Souza made his debut for team in 2014 before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015 in a three-team deal involving Trea Turner and Wil Myers.
In 2018, Souza was involved in another three-team trade that sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks. While with the D-Backs in 2019, Souza underwent season-ending surgery to repair an ACL tear, LCL tear, partial PCL tear and posterior lateral capsule tear in his left knee.
After that, Souza signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs in 2020 before being designated for assignment later that season. He started 2021 with the Houston Astros on a Minor League deal but was released after Spring Training.
The Dodgers signed Souza a week after the Astros released him, promoted the veteran to their active roster on June 16.
In 13 Major League games this season, he has hit .160/.250/.360 with a 70 wRC+ and -0.2 WAR but he did help the Dodgers defeat the Diamondbacks with an eighth inning go-ahead home run on June 18.
In 72 at-bats for the OKC Dodgers, Souza has hit .264/.432/.610 with six home runs.
He is a career .231/.321/.415 hitter with 72 home runs, a 102 wRC+ and 5.6 WAR across 495 games played at the major league level.
Dodgers waiting on Seager
The Dodgers remain hopeful Corey Seager will come off the 60-day injured list at some point soon, and potentially for the remainder of the series against the San Francisco Giants.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Seager responded well from participating in a simulated game on Monday and at this point is awaiting clearance from the training staff that he can return without any limitations.
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