The Tigers have signed catcher Josh Thole to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Double-A Erie, per the SeaWolves’ Twitter account.
Thole, 31, is perhaps best known as the personal catcher for Cy Young-winnings knuckleballer R.A. Dickey during some of his best seasons. The relationship between the two was strong enough to facilitate the addition of Thole into the December 2012 trade that sent Dickey from the Mets to the Blue Jays; the backstop ended up appearing in 102 games for Toronto in the two years following that swap.
The veteran Thole has certainly never been known for his bat. He last appeared in the majors during the 2016 season, when he hit just .169/.254/.220 across 136 plate appearances. For his MLB career, Thole sports a wRC+ of just 73, in part due to a slugging percentage that barely tops .300.
To be fair, though, Thole’s never been valued for his bat. Despite these laughable offensive numbers, Fangraphs’ WAR formula rates Thole as an above-replacement-level player for his lifetime due to solid defensive numbers. Thole’s also shown an aptitude for catching knuckleballs during his career, which is no simple feat.
Well Josh Thole just signed with the Tigers
Source?
this made me laugh way more than it should’ve
“Fangraphs’ WAR formula rates Thole as an above-replacement-level player for his lifetime due to solid defensive numbers.”
A bit surprised to see that, Kyle. Thole appeared to be a prototypical AAAA player during his time with Los Mets. Was he really that good defensively? Never seen framing numbers for him, was he good at framing right before folks starting keeping track? A bit surprised to read his name again as my first reaction to the header was, borrowing from the Earl of Baseball, ‘Josh Thole is still in bleeping baseball?’ *
“Thole’s also shown an aptitude for catching knuckleballs during his career, which is no simple feat.”
But has he really? As I recall, Thole was hooked up with Dickey because Thole was considered the catcher the Mets would least miss should he become injured, not because of any particular skill at handling the knuckleball. Has his work with knuckleballs been compared to other catchers or is it just assumed that he is better than others at that specialized skill?
That whole ‘facility at handling the knuckleball’ skill appears to be one of those silly things broadcasters and sports talk hosts say. Every catcher who manages to stick around after demonstrating that he can’t hit his weight eventually develops the rep as a good defensive catcher. He obviously isn’t keeping his job with his bat so he must be great defensively. I remain a skeptic, but am open to being shown that I’m wrong.
*Citation upon request.
Well, it seems he didnt get injured catching the knuckler, so wouldnt that indicate he was good at it?
“ . . . wouldn’t that indicate that he was good at it?”
It could also indicate that he was good at dodging the knuckler, Uecker-style.
Watching Dickey for 4 years, nobody caught him better than Josh Thole. Not even Russell Martin, who was a very good defender in his prime. Thole was an underappreciated player in Toronto and took a lot of unnecessary criticism from Jays fans.
That’s WHY they “develop” that reputation and stick around. They earn it…..
“They earn it….”
Not sure I follow, jorge. Are you suggesting that catchers focus more on the defensive part of their game when they recognize that they will never be able to hit ML pitching?
Do the Tigers have knuckleball pitchers at Erie?
Not at Erie, but Josh Turley is a knuckleballer in Toledo.
gee, I wonder if Thole has ever offered any value with his bat.
add that in with the rave reviews on defense and you got a can’t miss player.
Did you just revive the rave review meme?
always.
CPR is pointless on something that is dead.
RA Dickey will sign Monday
Josh Thole is just a piece that won’t contribute to a championship club. From what I have heard, Thole is a good guy.
As far as his baseball skills, he is what he is. He got a little messed up at the plate at times in Toronto. I don’t know if that was himself or the coaches but once he realizes that his strength is going the other way and not pull anything, he can have a .250 batting average. His defence is okay.
Hope he sticks.
He was in the Atlantic League, I just saw him.