Phillies designate Tommy Joseph for assignment for Jake Arrieta
By John Town
To make room for Jake Arrieta on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated Tommy Joseph for assignment in a move expected for some time.
The Phillies made Jake Arrieta’s signing official Monday night. To make room on the roster for him, the team designated Tommy Joseph for assignment. They have ten days to trade, release, or send Joseph to the minors outright if another team doesn’t claim him off waivers.
This is a move that has been coming since Carlos Santana was signed this offseason. With Santana and Rhys Hoskins both on the roster, there wasn’t much room for a third first baseman on the roster. It didn’t help that Philadelphia is expected to carry just four bench players for an extra relief pitcher.
Joseph had actually been putting together a nice spring. In 11 games, he has nine hits, including three doubles, as well as a run batted in. In addition to first base, he got some work in the outfield as well. This would hopefully give him some versatility, but it wasn’t enough.
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Joseph was the key piece of the Hunter Pence trade. Then one of the top catching prospects, a series of concussions cost him significant playing time before he ultimately moved to first base in 2016. He started the year in minor-league camp, but after a hot start in Triple-A, he was called up to supplant the aging Ryan Howard at first base.
Joseph actually showed some potential that year, hitting .257 with a .813 OPS, 21 home runs, and 47 RBI.
By the end of the season, he had gained a majority of the playing time from Howard.
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Last year, Joseph was the Opening Day first baseman, but he started off the season poorly with a .179/.222/.254 line in April. His numbers started to pick back up later in the year, but Hoskins’s arrival to the majors pushed Joseph out of the spotlight. Joseph finished the year with 22 home runs, 69 runs batted in, a .240/.289/.432 line, a 6.2 percent walk rate and 24.2 percent strikeout rate.
Clearly looking for more production at the position, the team went out and gave Santana a three-year, $60 million contract this offseason to be their starting first baseman. This left Joseph on the outside looking in, and this designation puts the nail in the coffin.
Next: Will Arrieta be ready for first week of the season?
A team could take a chance on Joseph if they need a backup first baseman, but he is likely headed back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.