Tommy

Joseph

No surprises here among the first round of spring training cuts for the Red Sox. Joseph hasn’t appeared in a game at the major league level since back in 2017 with the Phillies and he spent part of 2019 in South Korea.

Joseph, 28, split last season between Korea and the Red Sox’ minor league system. He has not appeared in the majors since 2017.

It’s a one-year, $1 million deal. Joseph, best known for his time with the Phillies, spent most of 2018 with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate while batting .284/.353/.549 with 21 homers. The 27-year-old will now take his chances overseas.

After hitting 43 homers for the Phillies between 2016-2017, Joseph most of 2018 with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate while batting .284/.353/.549 with 21 homers. The 27-year-old will look for a better fit elsewhere.

Joseph, a second-round pick from 2009, has a .256/.307/.427 batting line over parts of three seasons in the minors. He packs plenty of pop (46 homers over his first 324 pro games) and continues to make strides behind the plate, throwing out 48 percent of attempted basestealers with Double-A Richmond this year. The 21-year-old could be the heir apparent to Carlos Ruiz, who turns 34 in January and is due to become a free agent following the 2013 campaign.

The Double-A catcher played in the Futures Game and just turned 21. Pegged as San Francisco’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com, Joseph hit .260/.313/.391 at Richmond prior to the proposed deal. He was the Giants’ second-round pick in 2009.

Joseph, part of last year’s Hunter Pence deal with the Giants, isn’t considered a candidate to fill in for Carlos Ruiz early on this season. He will be an intriguing internal option to step in should Ruiz leave as a free agent next winter.

Joseph appeared in just 36 minor league games this year due to a nasty concussion, but the Phillies wanted to protect him from December’s Rule 5 Draft so they officially added him to their 40-man roster on Wednesday. Joseph, 22, is a .249/.302/.415 hitter on the farm.

The 22-year-old backstop appeared in just 36 minor league games in 2013 due to concussion issues. Widely regarded as one of the top offensive catching prospects in the game, he’s unlikely to contribute anything of value to fantasy leagues in 2014.

Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Sunday night that he was planning to get Joseph more playing time against right-handers at the expense of Ryan Howard, but it’ll be Howard at first base (and batting cleanup) Monday versus Washington righty Tanner Roark. Joseph has an .861 OPS and three home runs in his first 11 major league games.