Souza announced Tuesday via his personal Twitter account that he will retire from professional baseball.
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.
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Steven Souza: Parts ways with M's
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The Mariners released Souza on Monday.
The two sides likely reached a mutual agreement to part ways after Souza went unclaimed when the Mariners exposed him to waivers after designating him for assignment Sunday. Souza was moved off the 40-man roster after seeing action in six games for the big club and producing a .158/.158/.158 slash line while striking out eight times across 19 plate appearances. The 33-year-old will look to catch on with another organization on a minor-league contract.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: DFA'd by Seattle
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Souza was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Sunday.
Souza was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma on May 13 and went 3-for-19 with an RBI and eight strikeouts in six games for Seattle, but he's now been removed from the 40-man roster. Sam Haggerty had his contract selected in a corresponding move.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Receives breather Wednesday
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Souza is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Following his promotion from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday, Souza proceeded to start in each of the Mariners' last five games, going 3-for-15 with an RBI. He could lose hold of an everyday role next week, when Seattle is expected to bring back 2020 American League Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis (knee) from the 10-day injured list.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Replaces Kelenic in everyday role
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Souza will serve as Seattle's designated hitter and No. 8 batter in Monday's game in Toronto.
Following Jarred Kelenic's recent demotion to Triple-A Tacoma, Souza appears to have settled in as a regular in the Seattle outfield. Though he'll be serving as a DH in Monday's series opener in Toronto, Souza manned right field in each of Seattle's three games versus the Mets over the weekend, going 2-for-11 with an RBI.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Called up, starting Friday
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Souza's contract was selected by the Mariners on Friday.
Souza got off to a hot start at Triple-A Tacoma this season, and he'll start in right field and bat eighth against the Mets on Friday after Jarred Kelenic was sent down. Souza slashed .267/.417/.533 with five homers, 17 runs, 17 RBI and three stolen bases over 22 minor-league games this year, and he'll compete with Dylan Moore for playing time in right field.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Thriving at Tacoma
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Souza went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and three additional RBI from a pair of singles while also scoring two runs in Triple-A Tacoma's win over Salt Lake on Sunday. The veteran is slashing .265/.414/.515 over 87 plate appearances across 20 games with the Rainiers.
Souza failed to make the Opening Day roster coming out of spring training, but his body of work thus far at Tacoma seems to indicate he still has a good bit left in the tank. The 33-year-old's power bat is unsurprisingly a good fit for the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, yet his 27.6 percent strikeout rate does offer a reminder of one of his career-long Achilles heels.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Misses out on Opening Day roster
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The Mariners reassigned Souza to minor-league camp Tuesday.
Souza and Billy Hamilton were among the four players cut from big-league camp Tuesday, with both outfielders likely seeing their chances of making Seattle's Opening Day roster come to an end when the Mariners announced Monday that top prospect Julio Rodriguez would begin the season in the majors. The 32-year-old Souza appears set to open the season at Triple-A Tacoma, unless Seattle releases him to pursue opportunities with another organization.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Slugs second homer
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Souza went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a Cactus League loss to the Rangers on Tuesday.
The veteran uncorked his second home run of the spring in the fourth inning off Daniel Lynch, continuing what has been an encouraging body of work at the plate in Cactus League play. Souza is now hitting .267 (4-for-15) with five RBI, a walk and three runs in addition to the pair of round trippers across eight exhibitions, seemingly buttressing his chances of securing an Opening Day roster spot as a reserve outfielder and designated hitter.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Blasts grand slam Saturday
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Souza went 1-for-3 with a grand slam in a Cactus League win over the Dodgers on Saturday.
The veteran, who's in camp on a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training, certainly made an emphatic early statement in his bid for a big-league roster spot with his bases-loaded blast in the bottom of the first. Souza will seemingly need to put together several more remarkable performances to gain serious consideration, however, as he hasn't even hit over .200 since 2018 and has played just 18 games at the big-league level since that season.
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Mariners' Steven Souza: Gets minors deal with Seattle
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Souza agreed to a minor-league deal with the Mariners on Sunday that includes an invitation to big-league spring training, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
He will earn $1 million if he makes the big-league club, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Souza, 32, has always struggled to stay healthy, and he hasn't been close to league average as a hitter since 2017, when he had a career year with the Rays. He has a 43.3 K% in 67 plate appearances over the past two seasons.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Added to wild-card roster
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Souza was added to the roster for Wednesday's NL Wild Card Game against the Cardinals.
Souza was designated for assignment in mid-September, but he'll likely be available in a depth role during Wednesday's postseason contest. The 32-year-old appeared in 17 major-league games during the regular season and slashed .152/.222/.333 with a home run, three RBI and two runs.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Designated for assignment
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Souza was designated for assignment Monday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Souza had been with the team since Tuesday but didn't make the most of his brief opportunity, going 1-for-8 with four strikeouts. As a 32-year-old with a .150/.239/.333 slash line in limited action over the last three seasons, he's unlikely to generate much excitement on the waiver wire. The move clears space for Clayton Kershaw to return from his forearm injury.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Promoted, starting in right field
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Souza's contract was selected from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Tuesday's game against the Cardinals, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. He is starting in right field and batting seventh.
The 32-year-old outfielder was hitting .247/.387/.507 with nine home runs and four steals in 46 games at Triple-A. He hit .160 with 10 strikeouts in 13 games in the majors earlier this season. Zach McKinstry was optioned in a corresponding move.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Rejoins Dodgers
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The Dodgers re-signed Souza to a minor-league contract Sunday, Blake Harris of True Blue LA reports.
Souza was released by the Dodgers last Friday and subsequently opted for free agency, but he's now back with the organization's Triple-A team. In 13 games with the big club this season, Souza slashed .160/.250/.360 a home run, two RBI and two runs across 28 plate appearances.
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Steven Souza: Cut loose by Dodgers
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The Dodgers released Souza on Sunday.
Souza went 4-for-28 with 10 strikeouts across 13 games with the Dodgers earlier this season before he was dropped from the 40-man roster July 6. After going unclaimed off waivers, Souza reported to Triple-A Oklahoma City and stuck around with the affiliate for about a week before being granted his release. The veteran outfielder will look to land with another organization.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Designated for assignment Tuesday
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Souza was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
The veteran outfielder signed a minor-league deal with Los Angeles right before Opening Day and later made his way back to the big leagues June 16. He was never able to get anything going at the plate, recording just four hits and two walks across 28 plate appearances. Souza will be placed on waivers for the time being, where he could draw interest from clubs looking to add outfield depth. Jake Reed was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding roster move.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Clubs big homer against former club
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Souza went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 3-0 win over Arizona.
Souza played 72 games with the Diamondbacks in 2018, clubbing five homers and driving in 29 runs. He's struggled to find his footing in the league since, but the Dodgers gave him another chance in the big leagues after he put up a strong showing with their Triple-A club earlier this season. The 32-year-old came through with the big hit in Friday's win, belting a solo shot to left field in the eighth inning to break a scoreless tie and send Los Angeles on to victory. Souza has gone 2-for-6 in two games with the Dodgers thus far.
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Dodgers' Steven Souza: Signs minor-league contract
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Souza signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
Souza was released by Houston on March 24 but will land a minor-league agreement one day before the start of the regular season. The Dodgers have plenty of talent in the outfield, but Souza could serve as depth at some point in 2021. The 31-year-old has appeared in 83 major-league games with the Diamondbacks and Cubs across the past two seasons and slashed .213/.304/.366 with six home runs, 34 RBI and seven stolen bases.
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Steven Souza: Cut by Houston
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The Astros plan to release Souza on Wednesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Souza's release strengthens Chas McCormick's hopes of claiming a spot on Houston's Opening Day roster as a fourth outfielder. The 31-year-old Souza failed to get going at the plate during Grapefruit League play, striking out in 13 of his 22 at-bats.
