The Texas Rangers’ World Series roster has five players with ties to the Los Angeles Dodgers, including Josh Sborz, who pitched for the franchise during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Sborz was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft after an excellent career with the University of Virginia that saw him earn the College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award.
Walker Buehler said on a recent episode of the “Just Baseball Show” podcast that he is happy to see Sborz finding success with the Rangers in the World Series and isn’t surprised by his success on such a big stage:
“Josh Sborz was one of my groomsmen. Also, don’t forget 2015 College World Series Most Outstanding Player Josh Sborz. I think that fella threw 18 shutout innings in Omaha as a reliever. He’s good under the lights. I’ll tell you that.”
In parts of two seasons with the Dodgers, Sborz went 0-1 with a 6.08 ERA, 5.91 FIP and 1.28 WHIP over 13.1 innings pitched (11 games).
The 29-year-old posted a 6-7 record, 5.50 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.15 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine in 52.1 innings across 44 appearances for the Rangers this season.
Sborz has elevated his performance in the postseason as he owns a 0.93 ERA and 0.72 WHIP with nine strikeouts in nine appearances entering Game 4 on Tuesday night.
Sborz threw a scoreless seventh inning in Game 3 of the World Series, which included back-to-back strikeouts of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Alek Thomas.
Dodgers trade Josh Sborz
Sborz’s time with the Dodgers came to an end in February 2021 when he was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Minor League pitcher Jhan Zambrano. Sborz had been designated for assignment as the corresponding move to making the Trevor Bauer signing official.
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