Steven Souza

Steven Souza

35-Year-Old OutfielderOF
 Free Agent  
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Steven Souza in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
$Signed a one-year contract with the Mariners in March of 2022. Released by the Mariners in May of 2022.
Brings end to career
OFFree Agent  
July 19, 2022
Souza announced Tuesday via his personal Twitter account that he will retire from professional baseball.
ANALYSIS
After he was granted his release from Seattle in late May, Souza took the last seven weeks to contemplate his future in baseball before ultimately choosing to step away from the game. A 2007 third-round pick of Washington, Souza went on to spend parts of eight seasons in the majors with the Nationals, Rays, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Dodgers and Mariners. The 33-year-old outfielder will retire with a career slash line of .229/.318/.411 to go with 72 home runs and 42 stolen bases across 505 games.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2022 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2021 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2020 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2019 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2018 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2017 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .000 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Since 2022vs Right .429 14 0 0 1 0 .214 .214 .214
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Left .000 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2022vs Right .429 14 0 0 1 0 .214 .214 .214
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-100%
OPS on Road
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
-100%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Since 2022Away .316 19 0 0 1 0 .158 .158 .158
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away .316 19 0 0 1 0 .158 .158 .158
More Splits View More Split Stats
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Steven Souza See More
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
May 15, 2022
Erik Siegrist reviews the free-agent pool in the American League and finds a mixed bag of prospects, veterans and players returning from injuries, including Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
September 12, 2021
Among his list of candidates, Jan Levine profiles a number of recent injury returnees who should be able to immediately help you out.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
June 20, 2021
Jan Levine looks at the latest NL recruits, including a Colorado starting pitcher who could be back soon.
Regan's Rumblings: 10 Position Decisions
March 4, 2021
David Regan kicks off his season-long column with a look at key position battles he’ll monitor this spring, like whether Garrett Hampson will carve out regular at-bats in Colorado.
The Long Game: Opportunity Knocks
March 3, 2021
Erik Siegrist takes a look at the potential keeper-league value to be found in AL job battles, as Jared Walsh could become this year's Luke Voit.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
Just getting back on the field in 2020 made it a successful campaign for Souza. A year earlier, he sustained a gruesome knee injury in spring training that kept him out for the entire season. He latched on with the Cubs after leaving Arizona, and his new club eased him back into action as a reserve. Unsurprisingly, Souza showed signs of rust after the long layoff, batting just .148 with a .591 OPS and one home run in 11 games for Chicago. The Cubs then let Souza go in September, and the 31-year-old failed to sign with another organization before the season ended. Now one more year removed from the knee injury, perhaps Souza can bounce back in 2021, but the speed and power he displayed earlier in his career -- he stole 16 bases to go along with 30 home runs for Tampa Bay in 2017, both career highs -- are unlikely to fully return. Souza will look for a shot as a fourth outfielder with a new team in 2021.
Since his 30-homer season in 2017, Souza has played in just 72 games as he has missed time with the following injuries: sprained pectoral muscle, shoulder injury, back spasms, and most recently, his knee blowing up in the penultimate spring training game leading to him missing the entire 2019 season. He has lots of athleticism, but his aggressive style in the field has led to injuries throughout his career, which is why 2017 is the only season in which he has played in more than 120 games. He is a three-true-outcome guy as he will accept his walks, strike out in bunches and can hit the ball hard when pitchers make mistakes. The athleticism he has displayed is likely to take a hit coming back off a major knee injury, and it was not a surprise when Arizona non-tendered him. Souza needs to be in the American League where he can serve as a DH and stay out of the field for his own well being.
Souza’s follow-up to his breakout 2017 campaign didn’t go as planned. Acquired by the Diamondbacks in late February, Souza strained his right pectoral diving for a ball in a March 21 Grapefruit League affair. His Arizona debut was delayed until early May. About three weeks later, he aggravated the shoulder and was out until July 4. Souza missed more time down the stretch with back spasms. On the field, Souza couldn’t get his power stroke going as 2017’s career-best 25.6% HR/FB plummeted to a measly 7.8%. The rest of his underlying metrics were close to the previous season so assuming Souza’s 2018 woes were largely health-related, there’s a strong chance he rebounds. Souza is a stealth source of steals but he’s an average drain with a K% just under 30%. If you can absorb that, Souza can help boost counting stats on the cheap. Just be ready with a replacement for the likely DL stint. He’s eclipsed 500 plate appearances just once, in 2017.
Souza might've had one of the quietest high-impact performances last year, as his upside was finally realized. The righty launched 27 of his 30 home runs against right-handers, doing away with concerns that he could only occupy the small side of a platoon. There were other positive signs: Souza greatly improved his success rate on the basepaths (80 percent, up from 54 percent), he more than doubled his walk rate (from 6.6 percent to 13.6) and he chased fewer pitches outside of the strike zone (24.4 percent O-Swing%). Unfortunately, he still had a sub-70-percent contact rate, and those issues combined with his pull tendencies will limit what he'll offer in terms of batting average. In leagues that count on-base percentage, investors will gain a safer floor to pair with his combination of power and speed.
Souza struggled to make consistent contact once again in 2016 before undergoing hip surgery in late September. He struck out in more than one-third of his 468 plate appearances while his contact rate languished at an unsightly 63 percent. Despite the difficulties, however, Souza did bump up his average 22 points to .247 in his sophomore campaign, while setting new career highs in home runs and RBI. The slugging outfielder's hip is expected to be fully healthy by the time spring training rolls around, so the hope is that Souza will be able to hit the ground running in the new season. With even a marginal improvement in plate discipline and better health, he could reach 20 homers for the first time while perhaps adding double-digit stolen bases.
The plan was to give Souza the everyday job in right field to replace Wil Myers. The Rays reportedly grew tired of Myers because of his issues at the plate and in the field and a perceived unwillingness to improve. Souza had some of the same issues himself in 2015 as he would take strikes to fall behind and then swing at balls out of the zone to get himself out. He flashed big power at times as he punished mistakes by pitchers, but good velocity up or breaking balls away were a problem for him all season long. He missed six weeks in the second half with a wrist injury, and that issue affected him at the plate the rest of the way as he had just five extra-base hits upon his return, but did hit .277/.385/.385 in those 78 plate appearances. He turns 27 very early into the 2016 season, and must start making more contact.
Souza had a massive campaign at Triple-A, hitting .350/.432/.590 with 18 home runs and 26 steals en route to being named the International League MVP as well as the Nationals' Minor League Player of the Year. However, it was his diving catch to preserve Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter in the ninth inning of an otherwise meaningless September game that most people will remember about his season. The 26-year-old didn't do much offensively in his brief time in the big leagues, but he's clearly got nothing left to prove in the minors. He may get a chance at a regular role in the majors after he was traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason.
Souza had another impressive year in the minors, adding some plate discipline to his skill set and cementing his place in the Nationals' future plans, but the question now isn't whether he will play, but where. The move to right field got Souza out from under Ryan Zimmerman on the depth chart but now Jayson Werth's giant contract looms as a roadblock in right field instead. Too much talent is a better problem to have than not enough, of course, so the Nationals will probably let Souza continue to develop at Triple-A, see if he can stay healthy for a change, and worry about the glut of outfielders next offseason.
A third-round pick out of high school way back in 2007, the Nationals have been very patient with Souza even after a 2010 suspension for PED use, and that patience was finally rewarded to a degree last season as he hit 23 home runs in just 97 games between Low-A and High-A. It is hard to see where he fits into the team's future plans though. A 23-year-old beating up on A-ball pitching is not as impressive as it might seem at first glance, and with Ryan Zimmerman at the head of an organizational depth chart that also features Anthony Rendon and Matt Skole, playing third base in Washington just does not seem all that likely. If he keeps hitting at Double-A he could emerge as useful trade bait, and another team with bigger needs at the hot corner might give him a chance.
More Fantasy News
Parts ways with M's
OFFree Agent  
May 24, 2022
The Mariners released Souza on Monday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
DFA'd by Seattle
OFSeattle Mariners  
May 22, 2022
Souza was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Receives breather Wednesday
OFSeattle Mariners  
May 18, 2022
Souza is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Replaces Kelenic in everyday role
OFSeattle Mariners  
May 16, 2022
Souza will serve as Seattle's designated hitter and No. 8 batter in Monday's game in Toronto.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Called up, starting Friday
OFSeattle Mariners  
May 13, 2022
Souza's contract was selected by the Mariners on Friday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Finds new agency
OFFree Agent  
October 15, 2020
Souza is no longer represented by ACES and has hired Moye Sports Associates, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
ANALYSIS
Souza made his return to the major leagues in 2020 after missing the entire 2019 season due to a knee injury. He struggled to a .148/.258/.333 line in only 31 plate appearances with the Cubs and will enter the offseason as a free agent. Due to his poor performance in the small sample, Souza may have to settle for a minor-league contract with the hopes of making a major-league roster during spring training.
See All MLB Rumors