Josh Sborz #66

Joshua Alan Sborz…he and his wife, the former Alexis Shaffer (m. 11/12/20), have two sons: Werth (b. 7/28/21) and Shepard (b. 9/9/23)…Josh and Alexis met at the University of Virginia, where Josh played baseball and Alexis played soccer…Josh played three seasons for the Cavaliers, earning Most Outstanding Player honors during the team’s run to the 2015 College World Series title…elected to the UVA Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021…finished college career sixth in program history in saves (17) and seventh in pitching appearances (80)…has made 14 career NCAA tournament appearances, which is most in school history…selected in the Competitive Balance Round B (74th overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft and signed by Dodgers scout Clair Rierson…attended McLean (Va.) High School, where he was named Virginia State Player of the Year in 2012…older brother, Jay, played eight seasons (2003-10) in the Detroit organization and made his MLB debut in 2010.

2024

Battled with right rotator cuff and shoulder injuries, posting a 3.86 ERA (7 ER/16.1 IP) with 17 strikeouts in 17 games (all relief) for Texas around four stints on the Injured List (4/7-25, 5/9-7/5, 8/11-9/24, 9/28-end of season)…marked his fewest appearances during his Rangers tenure (beg. 2021), missing a total of 108 games… still recorded eight holds, which ranked fourth on team (35-Robertson, 13-Leclerc, 9-Latz)…made Opening Day roster for the third time in his career (also, 2021-22 w/ TEX)… Texas went 13-4 in his 17 appearances, T5th-most team wins among Rangers relievers despite missing two-thirds of the season…also pitched in 13 MiLB games across three rehab assignments with Double-A Frisco (2 games) and Triple-A Round Rock (11 games), owning a 10.12 ERA (12 ER/10.2 IP) with 17 strikeouts (14.34 SO/9)…in a limited sample, recorded career highs in walk rate (5.8%, 4 BB/69 BF) and strikeout to walk ratio (4.25, 17 SO/4 BB), as he fired 62.9% of his first pitches for strikes, his highest mark as a Ranger (prev. 60.6% in 2022)… ended season on 15-day Injured List with right shoulder fatigue and underwent right shoulder surgery on 11/13, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

2023

Combined to go 6-7 with a 5.50 ERA (32 ER/52.1 IP) over 44 relief appearances…had three stints on Injured List: Opening Day-4/13 (left ankle sprain), 7/12-27 (right biceps tendinitis), 9/5-26 (right hamstring strain)…11.35 strikeouts per 9.0 innings figure ranked 11th among A.L. relief leaders (min. 50.0 IP in relief) and was the highest by any Texas pitcher (min. 50.0 IP) since José Leclerc in 2019 (13.11)…despite IL time, still ranked among staff leaders in relief SO (second, 66), games (fourth), and relief IP (fouth)…Seven relief losses were T4th-most in A.L…career-high six relief wins led Rangers and were T8th-most in A.L…was a key bullpen figure in leverage situations early in year, posting 2.62 ERA (10 ER/34.1 IP) w/ 9 BB/46 SO over first 25 app. thru 7/1 after return from IL in mid-April…last four G in first “half” before second IL stay: 3.1 IP, 9 R-ER, 4 BB/6 SO, two HR…returned in late July, posting 7.0 SHO IP in first seven app. w/ 0 BB/8 SO thru 8/15… next 6 G, 8/16-9/4: 5.0 IP, 13 H, 14 R-13 ER before another IL stint…returned on final road trip, 2.2 SHO IP over two app. w/ 3 SO...earned win in postseason-clinching contest 9/30 at SEA.

POSTSEASON: Posted a 0.75 ERA (1 ER/12.0 IP), one save, and 13 strikeouts across 10 relief outings during the Rangers’ historical run through the 2023 MLB postseason, his first career playoff action...his 0.75 ERA is the lowest in club postseason history (min. 10.0 IP)…was scoreless through first seven appearances (7.0 IP) during the 2023 postseason before allowing lone run on RBI single by Yordan Alvarez in ALCS G7 at HOU (off Aroldis Chapman)…Eight of 10 outings came in the 7th inning or later… covered final 2.1 frames of championship-clinching 5-0 win in World Series G5 at ARI (2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO), punching out Diamondbacks’ 2B Ketel Marte (looking) on a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the franchise’s first-ever title… per Stathead, it marked the longest scoreless relief outing in a potential World Series-clinching contest since LAD’s Julio Urías in 2020 WS G6 vs. TB at Globe Life Field (2.1 SHO IP).

2022

Finished with a 1-0 record in the big leagues, but posted a 6.45 ERA (16 ER/22.1 IP) which was the highest mark of his career since 2019…bounced back-and-forth between the Majors and Triple-A, throwing 22.1 innings apiece at both levels…made his only career start as an opener on 8/12 with Texas, tossing a scoreless inning vs. Seattle…did not allow a run in nine of his last 11 relief appearances (3.85 ERA)…notched a career-high five strikeouts against Seattle on 8/14, throwing two scoreless innings…struck out 32 of 100 batters faced (32%), the highest rate in his career…posted a 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings figure, the best mark of his tenure…utilized his slider 24.6% of the time and held opponents to a .216 BA on the breaking ball…served five separate stints with Round Rock, impressing in his 19 outings posting a 3-0 record and a 1.61 ERA (4 ER/22.1 IP)…suffered a right elbow sprain and was placed on the 15-day IL on 8/30… moved to the 60-day IL on 9/1, cutting his season short.

2021

Went 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA (26 ER/59.0 IP) across 63 relief outings in his first full Major League season…led club in relief strikeouts (69) and ranked 2nd in appearances to Brett Martin (66)…his 10.53 strikeouts per 9.0 innings figure was tops among Rangers qualifiers in 2021 and the highest mark by any qualifying Texas reliever since Jose Leclerc set the club record in 2019 (13.29)…earned first career win on 4/15 at TB and first career save on 5/6 at MIN…entered the month of August with a 4.78 season ERA, but posted a 2.53 ERA (6 ER/21.1 IP) in his last 22 games (beg. 8/7) to finish at 3.97…struck out multiple batters in 25 of 63 appearances…33.5% swings that miss pct. was highest among Rangers pitchers and ranked 15th in A.L. (min. 50.0 IP)…had 2 stints in the big leagues: Opening Day 4/15 and 4/25-end of season…had a 3-day stint on MLB Paternity List from 7/27-29…saw action at Rangers’ Alternate Training Site in Round Rock from 4/16-24…acquired by Texas from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for minor league RHP Jhan Zambrano on 2/16…had been designated for assignment on 2/11 when the Dodgers formally announced the signing of RHP Trevor Bauer.

2020

Made 4 relief appearances spanning 5 stints with the Dodgers, allowing one run in 4.1 innings…spent the majority of the year at the Alternate Training Site…held opponents 2-for-15 (.133) and posted a 0.69 WHIP…did not appear for Los Angeles in the 2020 postseason, but was a member of the taxi squad for the entirety of the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.

2019

In his Major League debut, made seven relief appearances, posting a 0-1 record with an 8.00 ERA (8 ER/9.0 IP) and a 1.56 WHIP across five stints with Los Angeles ... Made scoreless relief appearances in four-of-seven opportunities ... Recorded his first career strikeout on July 29 at Colorado, punching out Ryan McMahon in the bottom of the 7th inning ... Posted a .286 opponent's batting average, including a .333 mark against left-handed batters and a .250 average against righties...had a successful month of September, allowing only two earned runs in 6.0 innings, logging a 3.00 ERA while striking out six batters...went 4-3 with a 4.68 ERA (26 ER/50.0 IP) and three saves in 46 games (14 starts) with Oklahoma City, striking out 68 batters while posting a 1.40 WHIP.

2018

Combined to go 4-2 with six saves and a 3.88 ERA (23 ER/53.1 IP) in a career-high 46 appearances with Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City…used exclusively as a reliever for the first time in his career ... Began the season at Double-A Tulsa going 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA (5 ER/16.1 IP) in 13 appearances… successfully converted six of seven save opportunities ... Promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on May 10 and made 33 appearances for the OKC Dodgers, going 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA (18 ER/37.0 IP) with 47 strikeouts against 15 walks.

2017

Spent the entire season with Double-A Tulsa, where he posted an 8-8 record with a 4.63 ERA (50 ER/116.2 IP) in a career-high 24 starts ... Topped the club in wins (8), starts (24) and innings (116.2)

2016

Combined to go 8-5 with one save and posted a 2.81 ERA in 30 games (19 starts) with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa ... Limited opposing hitters to a .214 average, while posting a 1.08 WHIP…struck out 125 batters against 36 walks in 125.0 innings ... Began the season with the Quakes, where he went 8-4 with a 2.66 ERA and held hitters to a .207 average in 20 games (19 starts)…prior to his promotion to Double-A Tulsa on Aug. 1, he led the California League in ERA, opponents' batting average and WHIP (1.03) ... Selected as California League Pitcher of the Year as well as a Cal League mid- and post-season All-Star and Pitcher of the Week for the period ending June 19 ... Also selected as a Baseball America High Class-A All-Star. 

2015

Progressed across three levels in his first professional season, combining to go 0-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 13 games (three starts) with Rookie-advanced Ogden, Single-A Great Lakes and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga ... Combined to limit opposing hitters to a .221 batting average, with 25 Ks in 22.1 innings.