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Caleb Joseph

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat With MLB Catcher Caleb Joseph

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Caleb Joseph is a seven-year MLB veteran catcher and current free agent.  He’s played in the Majors for the Orioles, Diamondbacks, and Blue Jays.  This year, he had minor league deals with the Mets and Mariners – the latter of which he attributes in part to an MLBTR post on his availability!

Drafted by the Orioles in the seventh round in 2008 out of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Caleb got the call to the Majors in 2014 when Matt Wieters went on the shelf.  His first big league hit would come several days later in the form of a single against the Tigers’ Drew Smyly.  Caleb has smoked 32 home runs in his big league career.

From 2014-18, Joseph was by far the Orioles’ leader in innings behind the dish.  He served as the Orioles’ starting catcher in three playoff games in 2014, including in the ALCS against the Royals.  In his 2014 rookie season, Joseph led all qualified AL catchers by throwing out 40.4% of attempted base-stealers.

Caleb hosted a live chat today with MLBTR readers.  He was generous with his time and gave tons of insightful and hilarious answers.  Check out the transcript here, and give him a follow on Twitter @YYZBackstop.

Aside from Caleb, we’ve held live chats recently with Chad Cordero, Dan Straily, and Christian Colon.  The player gets to decide which questions are published and answered, and all four have enjoyed the experience.  If you’re a current or former MLB player who’d like to chat with our readers, send us an email through our contact form or have your agent reach out to Tim Dierkes.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/7/21

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Let’s round up some minor moves from around the game…

  • The Mariners signed a trio of players to minor league deals: Justin Grimm, Brooks Pounders, and Caleb Joseph. Grimm surrendered nine earned runs in just four innings with the Brewers last season after spending 2019 in Triple-A. The 32-year-old owns a 5.14 career ERA in 360 2/3 innings since his debut with the Rangers in 2012. This will be his second go-round in Seattle: he made five appearances for the Mariners in 2019. Pounders did not make a big league appearance in 2020 after appearing for the Mets, Rockies, Angels, and Royals in the four seasons prior. Joseph is a depth catcher who spent the past two seasons with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks after carving out significant playing time with the Orioles from 2014 to 2018.
  • The Brewers signed outfielder Mitch Longo to a minor league contract and assigned him to Double-A Biloxi. Noah Zavolas, meanwhile, was assigned to Triple-A Nashville, per the team. Zavalos posted a 2.98 ERA over 22 starts for the Brewers High-A affiliate in 2019. Longo, 26, was a 14th-round draft choice by Cleveland in 2016. He hit .248/.320/.370 across 365 plate appearances in Double-A back in 2019.
  • The Astros signed Brandon Lawson to a minor league deal and assigned him to Double-A, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The 26-year-old right-hander was solid in 2019 with a 3.70 ERA in 129 innings for the Giants’ Double-A affiliate. He was drafted by the Rays in the 12th round of the 2016 draft when current Astros GM James Click was working in their front office.

Mets Release Caleb Joseph

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The Mets released Caleb Joseph from his split contract with the team, MLBTR has learned.  The move took place last week.  Joseph signed with New York in February and was a late cut at the end of Spring Training camp.

A veteran of seven big league seasons, Joseph is best known for his time as a backup and part-time catcher with the Orioles from 2014-18.  He also appeared in 20 games with the Diamondbacks in 2019 and three games back in the AL East with the Blue Jays last season.  Joseph has hit .222/.270/.351 with 32 home runs over 1367 career plate appearances in the majors, but is better known for his defense, particularly his pitch-framing and his ability to throw out baserunners.

Joseph’s release leaves the Mets without much experienced catching depth at the Triple-A level, though the club added another backstop by claiming Deivy Grullon off waivers from the Rays last week.  Grullon, Bruce Maxwell, and Patrick Mazeika are the top depth options behind the MLB catching combo of James McCann and Tomas Nido.

Mets Notes: Lindor, Montgomery, Roster Cuts

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Mets owner Steve Cohen had dinner with Francisco Lindor on Saturday night, ostensibly to see if they could close the gap in their extension negotiations, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The Mets appear willing to cross the $300MM threshold, but that’s not a guarantee to keep Lindor in Queens long-term. The two sides continue to talk, however, and there is growing optimism that an accord will be reached before Lindor’s deadline of opening day. While we wait, let’s see how the rest of the Mets roster is shaping up…

  • The Mets released left-hander Mike Montgomery today, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). Montgomery was thought to have a shot at making the Mets bullpen as a non-roster invitee, but he now heads back to free agency. The 31-year-old is best known for getting his first career save to close out the Cubs’ game seven World Series victory in 2016. He never quite rose to the level that many expected of him, but he nevertheless has put together a six-year career as a swingman for the Mariners, Cubs, and Royals. The Royals acquired him from the Cubs midway through the 2019 season with the plan to finally install him regularly into their starting rotation. He made 13 starts the rest of the way covering 64 innings with a 4.64 ERA/4.74 SIERA. He logged just 5 1/3 innings in 2020, however. Montgomery had pitched well in spring training, but the Mets would have been on the hook for $2.25MM if they rostered him, notes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). He had an opt-out clause in his contract for today.
  • The Mets also announced a series of roster cuts today. Jerry Blevins, Jerad Eickhoff,  Caleb Joseph, Jose Peraza, Mallex Smith, and Arodys Vizcaino were informed that they will not make the opening day roster, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). Blevins, 37, will head to the Mets’ alternate site in Brooklyn. He’ll be joined there by fellow southpaw Stephen Tarpley, who was optioned to Triple-A. Tarpley has two options remaining.

Mets, Caleb Joseph Agree To Deal

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The Mets have agreed to a deal with free-agent catcher Caleb Joseph, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports (via Twitter). It’s a split contract, per Morosi, which would register as a bit of a surprise given that such a deal would place him on the 40-man roster (albeit with separate rates of pay in the Majors versus in Triple-A). Barstool’s Eric Arditti first suggested the two sides had reached a deal last night (Twitter link).

Joseph, 34, spent the 2020 season with the Blue Jays organization but was on the taxi squad for most of the season. He did log three games in the big leagues and go 1-for-8 — his long hit of the season standing as a home run.

The vast majority of Joseph’s career has come in an Orioles uniform. The former seventh-round pick made his big league debut with Baltimore back in 2014 and spent time as a backup with them each year until 2018. Joseph, who also had a brief stint with the 2019 D-backs, is a career .222/.270/.351 hitter in 1367 plate appearances.

Clearly, Joseph has never been a huge threat at the plate, but he’s thwarted 31 percent of stolen-base attempts against him over parts of seven big league seasons and is generally regarded as above-average with regard to pitch framing. He’s also a .256/.311/.393 hitter in his career at Triple-A, although that’s a sample of just 489 plate appearances. Adding Joseph will help the Mets to replace some of the depth lost when they designated Ali Sanchez for assignment earlier this month and subsequently traded him to the Cardinals.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/15/20

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The latest minor moves from around baseball….

  • The Blue Jays outrighted catcher Caleb Joseph to their taxi squad after he cleared waivers, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. The club designated Joseph for assignment on Sept. 11 and replaced him on its roster with young catcher Alejandro Kirk. The 34-year-old Joseph has taken only nine trips to the plate with the Blue Jays this season, and as a .223/.270/.351 hitter in 1,367 PA, the former Oriole and Diamondback hasn’t posed much of a threat on offense since he debuted in 2014.

Earlier moves:

  • The Indians outrighted Dominic Leone off their 40-man roster after the right-hander cleared waivers, and the team announced that Leone has reported to its alternate training site.  Leone was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The veteran reliever struggled to an 8.38 ERA over 9 2/3 innings for the Tribe this season, allowing three home runs (for a 2.8 HR/9) over that brief span.  While six of Leone’s nine runs allowed came over two disastrous outings against the Royals and Tigers, Leone wasn’t exactly solid otherwise, as he allowed at least one baserunner in all but two of his 12 appearances.  On the plus side, Leone did record 16 strikeouts over his 9 2/3 frames.

Blue Jays Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Blue Jays announced several roster moves on Friday, including the activation of reliever Ken Giles from the 45-day injured list. They also promoted catcher Alejandro Kirk, designated outfielder Billy McKinney and backstop Caleb Joseph, recalled righty Jacob Waguespack and optioned righty Sean Reid-Foley.

Giles made just two appearances this year (on July 24 and 26) before landing on the IL with a right forearm strain. It’s the second consecutive season limited by arm injuries for Giles, but when he’s right, he’s dominant. The 29-year-old was among the league’s best relievers last season, when he threw 53 innings and registered a 1.87 ERA/2.27 FIP with 14.09 K/9, 2.89 BB/9 and 23 saves in 24 chances. Giles’ production didn’t help lead to contention for the Jays then, but they’re 24-19 this season and in possession of a playoff spot. Therefore, if Giles is able to revisit his 2019 form, he could be an enormous down-the-stretch addition for Toronto.

Kirk, 21, has done nothing but hit in the minors over the past couple years. Even though he only reached the High-A level before this promotion, Kirk should be in line to at least back up Danny Jansen right now. He ranks as one of the top Blue Jays prospects at Baseball America (No. 5), MLB.com (No. 6) and FanGraphs (No. 6), with BA writing that Kirk “has an innate ability to barrel baseballs consistently, along with a good sense of the strike zone.”

Kirk will take over for Joseph, a former Oriole whom the Blue Jays signed to a minors pact in the offseason. Toronto selected Joseph back on Sept. 5, but it’s now booting the light-hitting 34-year-old from its roster after less than a week.

McKinney, along with the recently outrighted Brandon Drury, was part of the Blue Jays’ return for left-hander J.A. Happ in a deal they made with the Yankees in 2018. McKinney was effective after the Jays picked him up, as he hit .252/.320/.470 with six home runs in 118 plate appearances, but he didn’t come close to that production last year and hasn’t been part of Toronto’s plans this season. The 26-year-old totaled just three PA in 2020 before the Jays designated him.

Blue Jays Select Caleb Joseph’s Contract, Move Ken Giles To 45-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays announced some roster moves prior to tonight’s game against the Red Sox, including the news that catcher Caleb Joseph’s contract had been selected from the team’s alternate training site.  Joseph will replace catcher Reese McGuire, who was optioned to the alternate site.  To create 40-man roster space for Joseph, closer Ken Giles has been moved from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day IL.

Joseph has been on Toronto’s taxi squad for much of the season, and he’ll now be in line to get his first in-game action of the 2020 season.  Signed to a minor league deal last winter, Joseph saw regular action with the Orioles from 2014-18, hitting only .224/.271/.353 over 1317 plate appearances in Baltimore and then posting only a .513 OPS over a 41-PA stint with the Diamondbacks last season.  Joseph has, however, earned a solid reputation as a defensive catcher, adept at pitch-framing and throwing out would-be base-stealers.

Though Joseph isn’t known for his hitting, it won’t take much to top McGuire’s somewhat unfathomable -45 OPS+ during the 2020 season.  McGuire showed quite a bit of promise with his .882 OPS over 138 PA with the Jays in 2018-19, though this year has managed just a .073/.073/.146 slash line in 45 plate appearances.  With regular starter Danny Jansen also not hitting much, clearly the Blue Jays felt a change was needed to boost their production from the catcher’s spot.

Counting today, Giles has already spent 41 days on the injured list since his initial placement for a right forearm strain, so the move to the 45-day IL isn’t a big obstacle to his impending return.  Giles threw a live batting practice session today and is slated for another on Tuesday, so he could potentially be activated as soon as he hits the 45-day threshold.

Blue Jays Set Opening Day Roster

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The Blue Jays announced their Opening Day, 30-man roster this morning. Left-hander Brian Moran and right-hander A.J. Cole were both selected to the 40-man roster and will make the club. Toronto also placed righty Chase Anderson on the 10-day IL (retroactive to July 20) with an oblique strain and opted to carry infielder Santiago Espinal, lefty Anthony Kay and right-handers Thomas Hatch and Jacob Waguespack.

Notably absent is right-hander Nate Pearson, one of the game’s elite pitching prospects. He’s on the team’s three-man taxi squad (along with southpaw Ryan Borucki and catcher Caleb Joseph) but won’t accrue service time in that role. He’ll reportedly be called up next week, when the Jays will be able to promote him while extending their club control of him for an additional season (as has long been expected).

Moran, 31, is the older brother of Pirates third baseman Colin Moran. He made his big league debut at 30 years of age with the Marlins last season, pitching 6 1/3 innings while yielding three runs with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio. A seventh-round pick in 2009, Moran has had quite the odyssey to the Majors, twice taking to the independent circuit as a showcase to get back into affiliated ball. But he carries a career 3.67 ERA with 11.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 176 1/3 Triple-A frames and will now get his second opportunity in the Majors.

Cole, 28, is a former top prospect who’s yet to find his footing despite multiple MLB chances. He’s seen action with three teams in parts of five seasons but posted a pedestrian 4.86 ERA and 5.03 FIP in 174 innings. Cole had some success both with the Nats in 2017 and the Indians last year, logging identical 3.81 ERAs in both years. He’s averaged better than a strikeout per frame in the big leagues but has also surrendered an average of 1.8 homers per nine innings pitched.

The Jays don’t need to make any corresponding transactions to add Moran and Cole to the 40-man. The team recently placed Breyvic Valera on the restricted list after he was unable to leave his native Venezuela and report to Jays Summer Camp in Toronto. The club also has Brandon Drury, Jonathan Davis, Wilmer Font and Elvis Luciano on the Covid-19 IL, and none of the four will count against the team’s 40-man roster while on that list.

Blue Jays Sign Caleb Joseph To Minor-League Deal

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The Blue Jays have signed catcher Caleb Joseph to a minor-league contract, reports Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The Wasserman client will receive an invitation to major league spring training, Campbell adds.

Joseph is most well-known for his time with the division-rival Orioles. The 33-year-old played in parts of five MLB seasons with Baltimore, serving mostly as the club’s number two option behind the plate. He spent last season in the Diamondbacks’ organization, although he only appeared in twenty MLB games. Joseph spent a little more time with Triple-A Reno, where he hit .265/.324/.481 with seven home runs in 179 plate appearances. On the surface, that looks plenty strong for a catcher, but it was fairly pedestrian in the hitters’ paradise that was the 2019 Pacific Coast League.

Joseph has never been much of a hitter, with just a .223/.270/.350 line (66 wRC+) in 1,358 career MLB plate appearances. He’s long drawn above-average marks as a pitch framer from Baseball Prospectus and has thrown out a strong 31.8% of attempted base stealers over his career, though. Despite the lack of offensive prowess, Joseph makes sense as a defensive-minded backup option.

As things stand, the Jays figure to give the first look behind the dish at the young duo of Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire. That pair drew some trade interest at the start of the offseason, but they remain on hand as spring training approaches.

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