The Phillies announced that they’ve designated first baseman Tommy Joseph for assignment. His removal from the 40-man roster creates a spot for right-hander Jake Arrieta, whose multi-year deal with the Phillies has now been formally announced by the team.
Joseph, 26, simply found himself without a clear path to playing time after the Phils elected to give big money to Carlos Santana earlier in the winter. Without a DH spot to hide an extra bat, Joseph was a marginal competitor for a bench spot in camp.
That’s not to say he won’t hold some appeal to other organizations, though. Joseph has shown plenty of pop in his first two years in the majors, putting the ball over the fence 43 times in 880 plate appearances. But he’ll certainly need to boost his .297 OBP if he’s going to hold down a big league job, particularly given his lack of defensive flexibility.
Things would surely look quite a bit different if Joseph was still catching. Once a top-tier prospect as a backstop, concussion problems forced him out from behind the plate. The fact that he was still able to reach the majors as a first baseman is testament both to his talent and effort.
Can’t say Im surprised but I expected Zac Curtis to go down first.
He never had a chance really to stick on the roster. Not with Santana and Hoskins. So this isn’t too surprising. But I am surprised it didn’t happen sooner
Tommy Joseph has so much potential, Phillies are nuts for lettin home go
hes bad
lol
So much potential? Maybe 6 years ago.
He’s only 26. He’ll get another opportunity.
He looks like he’s 45. What’s that about?
gwithers, as Phillies fan I love ToJo the man, and I love and admire how he worked hard and struggled to overcome the concussions.
But the hole in his game has always been his OBP. If he had any kind of plate discipline and could get on base at an even average rate, they may not have signed Santana.
My fervent hope is that he clears waivers and accepts the assignment to LV, where improves his plate discipline and OBP, and winds up as some part of a trade package that brings back someone else.
Love you Tommy! Best of luck!
His BA, OBP and OPS were actually slightly better than Franco’s in each of the past two years. Which says more about Franco than TJ but just sayin’ …
I beg your pardon. Were you, perhaps, looking for a disagreement?
The only reason Franco hasn’t lost playing time is that there is no obvious replacement lurking.
He’s awful. Nice guy seemingly and a good story but not a good baseball player.
He has a little power. He needs to have a lot of power.
A lot of Phillies fans here called it beforehand.
Did they even make an attempt to trade him to an AL team? PTBNL is better than nothing.
They might not have had time to? That’s my guess. Correct me if I’m wrong but they could still get a PTBNL for him if he’s claimed
Not if he’s claimed but they could if they trade him
They could if somebody wants him enough to trade for him before he goes through waivers.
They still can
I don’t understand your musings. If claimed the Phillies would get, at minimum, a ptbnl. If say the Giants claimed him they would then have time to work out a trade. If no team claims him he can be assigned to AAA and they don’t lose him. This process is all about promoting parity. No team will overpay for Tommy Joseph and you will get the same caliber low A ball lottery ticket prospect from the Giants as you would from the Astros. Let the Giants have first crack at him to promote competitiveness. This has nothing to do with Joseph not being worth a ptbnl.
Waiver trades don’t really happen this time of year; I’m pretty sure the trade rules reset during the offseason. If Joseph were claimed on waivers, the Phillies would have to let him go because outright waivers are irrevocable, and the claiming team would assume his entire contract.
Right. However he’s DFA’ed now, which gives them a window to field any trade interest. Teams will sometimes trade if they don’t want to risk taking their waiver order shot. Not for much but you see it. Could happen here.
I would take a lottery ticket. If he goes on waivers, I am assuming he’s claimed. Thus given away.
Market for power types is awful
Danny Valencia couldn’t even get a guaranteed deal, Lucas Duda got $3.5m and Moose got $6.5m
ToJo wasn’t bringing back much more than the $20,000 waiver claim fee despite very solid power.
Yeah unfortunately he’s like the poor man’s version of Moose. If he’d get the OBP up who knows… could see maybe claimed by the White Sox as a place holder/depth option for if/when they trade Abreu at the deadline or Marlins (same reason) when Jeter trades Bour
Valencia and Duda are like 32 and 33. TJ is 26.
Pretty sure they’ve been trying to trade him since Hoskins began mashing at AAA.
I don’t understand the “more to come” in italics. What more is there to say? Joseph was designated for assignment because the Phillies signed Arrieta. If I were a betting man I would wager he winds up with the Miami Marlins.
He doesn’t hit lefties very well and he only has 1 position. I’m not even sure he fits on the Marlins.
true, 2016 was good against lefties, but last year he was worse against lefties..i was trying to find a home for him in the AL but hard to see- maybe KC since Duda. he considered going to Korea in the off season so maybe that is where he ends up.
There are a number of teams where Joseph could be a fit as a role player.
He’s not a role player. He’s a backup first baseman. There isn’t much demand for that. Maybe the mariners take a lookbecause their 1b depth isn’t the strongest with Healy out. Maybe the Marlins for another guy behind Bour. He has one tool and it’s not in high demand. Especially for 1B only players.
He is a below average 1b, in the 20 to 30 range as far as starting 1bs would go, by the numbers. He would be a good DH candidate for clubs. Would have been a better option than Matt Holiday, Carlos Beltran, Robbie Grossman, Matt Davidson, and Victor Martinez last year.
They have Bour at First.
Tommy Joseph is an ass, but I wish him the best
Why is he ‘an ass’?
While he’s not an ass, many dislike him in Philly simply because of the incompetence of our past GM for making the Pence trade back in 2012 in the first place
He;s really just like a facebook post from middle school that keeps popping back up.
Maybe he snubbed him for an autograph? Santana was the only player worth anything in the two Pence trades. Idk why we parted with him.
Some AL team will snag him as AAA depth knowing he could DH if his bat improves. If not, it was a very low risk move.
I hope his career is much better in Korea when he goes next year.
Credits for being a nice guy and for overcoming those concussions. Won’t be missed for striking out in clutch situations, hitting into double plays in clutch situations, and hitting solo home runs in the last of the ninth when the phils were losing11-2 and two outs
Why isn’t the DH in both leagues? Such a travesty!
You are correct sir, a travesty. He could be a platoon DH/1B.
Because in real baseball you are not allowed to be removed from the game and then re-enter.
No matter which organization picks him up Joseph will likely spend most of 2018 at the AAA level. Unfortunate for him that first basemen with his skill set are literally a dime a dozen.
IIRC he does have an option left, so if a team does claim him and put him on the 40-man, they can stash him there.
Get tommy Joseph mets
I could see him being DH depth for Oakland.
Royals should grab him and have two Moustakases.
With Jorge Bonafacio suspended, getting Joseph to DH so Soler can play right isn’t a bad idea.
Except that Cuthbert is going to need ABs and, with Moose at third, DH is really the only opportunity
Astros could pick him up since Gurielle is injured.
It was more for Carlos Santana not Arrieta.
I’m always for trading prospects for legit players. 7 players were involved in the Hunter Pence trades to the Phils and to the Giants. Domingo Santana is the only one with a future in the MLB as a ptbnl. TJ may, but Not in Philly.
Seattle could use him for a couple months!