Sborz' brother Jay played from 2003-2010 in the Tigers organization. And he was in Detroit for a bit in 2010.

In 2012, Josh graduated from McLean High School in Virginia and was named Virginia State Player of the Year. Then it was off to the University of Virginia on a baseball scholarship.

At Virginia, Sborz posted a 1.98 ERA as a freshman, only allowing hitters a .206 average. Josh was 6-4 with a 2.92 ERA in 2014, then was 4-2 with a 1.95 ERA and only a .164 batting average against him, as a senior in 2015.

June 2015: The Dodgers chose Sborz in the compensation part of the second round. And Josh signed via scout Clair Rierson for a bonus of $722,500.

In 2016, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Josh as the 17th-best prospect in the Dodgers organization. He was at #18 a year later, when the book came out again in 2017. He dropped to #25 in the spring of 2018. And he was at #22 in the winter before 2019 spring camps opened.

In 2013, Josh started Game 3 of the College World Series finals against Vanderbilt.

In 2015, Sborz was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player following UVA's championship run. He recorded three wins and a save in four games; pitching 13 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts, four walks and seven hits allowed.

Sborz called being a big leaguer “an honor.”

“Most kids strive to do this their entire lives,” he said. “Just to get the opportunity to pitch for the Dodgers is an honor.

“I think right when I was drafted I knew there was a chance. When you get drafted to play professional baseball, you know there’s a chance. You have an opportunity. They see you have talents. I just kept working hard and working hard.

“Just watching other guys pitch. That’s the biggest thing,” he said. “You think you have it all until you watch some of these other really good pitchers and you see what they have. You have to learn from them."  (Bill Plunkett - Baseball America - June 2019)

July 27-30, 2021: Josh was on the paternity list. 

TRANSACTIONS

June 2015: The Dodgers chose Sborz in the compensation part of the second round, out of the University of Virginia. Josh signed via scout Clair Rierson for a bonus of $722,500, which was about $105,000 less than slot.

Feb 16, 2021: The Rangers acquired Sborz from the Dodgers in exchange for Minor League righty Jhan Zambrano. 

Jan 11, 2024: Sborz and the Rangers avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $1 million. 

Sborz has a 91-97 mph FASTBALL with some late sink and arm-side run, rating a 65 on the 20-80 scale. His out-pitch is an 87-89 mph SLIDER that flashes above-average (a 60 grade) with late bite and good depth. He spins a below-average CURVEBALL, and he has some feel for a CHANGEUP that he doesn't need out of the bullpen. He can pitch on back-to-back days and can pitch multiple innings.

Josh needs better fastball command and more consistency with his slider. He comes straight over the top with his heater, powering it downhill to either side of the plate. (Spring, 2019)

2019 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 64.3% of the time; Slider 28.1%; and Curve 7.6% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 95.3 mph, Slider 86, and Curve 78.3 mph.

2020 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 52.3% of the time; Sinker 13.6%; and Slider 34.1% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 96.1 mph, Sinker 95.1, and Slider 87.6 mph.

Josh thrived as a closer for the University of Virginia Cavaliers. He won Most Outstanding Player at the 2015 College World Series as Virginia's relief ace.

Sborz is a strong-armed righthander.

Scouts are not crazy about his funky, somewhat violent arm action. He stabs with his arm action in the back, but they are impressed with the heat he fires up. The Dodgers went to work tweaking his eccentric delivery to see if he can repeat it consistently.

Josh throws strikes but could tighten up his command. (Spring, 2017)

Sborz is a true competitor. He has a fine baseball intellect. He has a knack for pitching out of jams.

MLB debut (June 20, 2019): Sborz made his Major League debut with the Dodgers.

He pitched 13.1 innings over two seasons in Los Angeles.

In 2020, he didn’t appear during the Dodgers’ postseason run to the World Series title after making four appearances in the regular season and posting a 2.08 ERA. 

2021 Season:   Appearances: 63    Record: 4-3      IP: 59.0    ERA: 3.97     SV: 1 

In February 2021, Sborz was traded by the Dodgers to the Rangers.  Sborz was fairly consistent throughout 2021.  (Chris Giles - Oct. 22, 2021)

2022: Here is a weird fact about Josh Sborz’s 2022 season: He had the same number of appearances (19) for the Rangers as he did for the Round Rock Express. And he had the same number of innings pitched (22.1) for the Rangers and the Express. He even started one game for the Rangers and one game for the Express. He walked 11 batters for the Express and 11 batters for the Rangers. 

However, Sborz had a 1.61 ERA at AAA, and a 6.45 ERA in the majors. His K rate was pretty much the same — he struck out 30 batters at AAA, 32 in the majors. Another difference was that Sborz gave up 11 hits, including two home runs, in those 22.1 IP in the minors; and 25 hits, including four home runs, in his 22.1 IP in the majors.

Sborz had a weird collection of numbers in his limited time in the majors. His .396 BABIP and 17.4% HR/FB ratio could lead one to believe that he was more unlucky than bad, as evidenced by his 3.25 xFIP. His xERA was 4.97, however, indicating that hitters were pounding him — that the home runs and hits were the result of him getting hammered, not just bad fortune. (Adam J. Morris - Mar 14, 2023)

2023 Season: If you watched the Rangers play this postseason, you heard more than a couple of times about how Josh Sborz had a 5.50 ERA during the regular season. The regular season was not kind to Sborz, as he battled to stay healthy. As a result, he struggled to pitch well.

It was always clear his stuff was top tier in terms of velocity and movement, but he could not often produce the necessary outs and often left pitches in the middle of the plate or missed it entirely. Not a recipe for success. The rough regular season for Sborz came to a head during the a series against the Astros, where he allowed six runs on five hits in just two-thirds of an inning pitched. He was immediately put on the IL following the game, and it seemed uncertain if we would see Sborz again this season.

Fast forward a few weeks and Sborz returned to the bullpen for the last weekend of the regular season. He had two solid appearances where he accumulated just one hit over two and two-thirds innings pitched. Although those outings were promising, he was still a long way from being a trusted high-leverage arm for Bruce Bochy.

Then, his first postseason appearance came in relief of Nathan Eovaldi in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against Tampa Bay. He relieved Eovaldi in the bottom of the 7th amid a comfortable 7 to 1 Rangers lead. He managed to hold that lead by finishing the 7th as well as a scoreless 8th without giving up a hit. It seemed that he had carried some momentum from his last two appearances in Seattle.

Against Baltimore, he got his first high-leverage opportunity. In Game 1 of the ALDS, Sborz came on in the bottom of the 7th yet again, this time to relieve Will Smith. Smith had gotten one out the previous inning replacing Dane Dunning and handed Sborz a 3 to 2 lead. Again, Sborz pitched a scoreless outing. He got out of the 7th with no runs, no hits, and was able to strike out two in the process.

Sborz came on again in Game 2 of the ALDS and got one out in the bottom of the 8th to get the Rangers out of a jam with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Again, not allowing a run. He had shown reliability in high-leverage situations and had earned the trust of Bochy, who likes to ride his pitchers who have a hot hand.

Bochy's faith in Sborz became apparent during the ALCS against the in-state rival Astros. Sborz appeared in five of the seven games in that series, and three of those five were situations where the Rangers were within two runs. Through six innings pitched in the ALCS, Sborz allowed just one run on two hits, while striking out four in the process. Facing a gauntlet of a lineup in the defending champs, Sborz solidified himself as a weapon out of the bullpen for the Rangers in high-leverage situations and became Bochy's go-to reliever.

Rangers' fans saw more of the same greatness Sborz had displayed all playoffs during the World Series. He came in during the bottom of the 7th of the pivotal Game 3 and had yet another shutdown inning. He dominated the bottom of the 7th much like he has all playoffs, giving up no runs on one hit while striking out two Diamondbacks. After the gut punch that was Game 2, Sborz again provided elite relief to help the Rangers hold the lead in Game 3 and reclaim the series advantage. A lead they would not relinquish.

In a very fitting end to the Rangers World Series run, Sborz closed out the final game with a dominant 2 1/3 innings pitched, allowing just one hit while striking out four Diamondbacks. The Rangers' first World Series championship will always be synonymous with Josh Sborz. His emergence as an elite, late-inning reliever made this championship possible.

And his championship-clinching, back-door curve to get postseason star Ketel Marte looking will also be forever burned in the brains of Rangers fans everywhere. A legendary moment and postseason for an emerging dominant reliever and newly minted Rangers legend, Josh Sborz. (Jacob Stubbs - Nov. 2, 2023)

2024 Season: Sborz had a 3.86 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. 

Sborz was hurt for most of the season. (Rick Graham - Oct. 22, 2024)

May 19-27, 2016: Sborz was on the DL.

June 14-23, 2017: Josh was on the DL.

August 1-8, 2017: Sborz was on the DL.

August 3-24, 2018: Josh was on the DL.

June 21-July 29, 2019: Josh was on the IL with lower back soreness.

April 16-May 2, 2022: Josh was on the IL with right elbow soreness. 

Aug. 30-Nov 10, 2022: The Rangers placed right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz on the 15-day Injured List with a right elbow sprain.

March 29-April 14, 2023: Sborz tweaked his ankle late in camp, sometime after he made his final Cactus League appearance. He struggled before the injury, though, allowing 9 runs in 5 2/3 innings. 

July 12-28, 2023: Josh was on the IL with right biceps tendinitis.

Sept 5-27, 2023: Josh was on the IL with left hammy strain.

April 6, 2024: Sborz removed from game with shoulder soreness. 

April 7-25, 2024: Josh was on the IL with right rotator cuff strain.

May 9-July 5, 2024: Josh was on the IL with right rotator cuff strain.

Aug 8-Sept 24, 2024: Josh was on the IL with right shoulder fatigue.