Texas Rangers claim Tommy Joseph on waivers

The Texas Rangers have claimed first baseman Tommy Joseph on waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies, per John Blake. To make room for Joseph on the 40 man roster, the Rangers have transferred pitcher Clayton Blackburn to the 60 day disabled list.

Joseph, 26, was a second round pick of the San Francisco Giants in the 2009 draft. Philadelphia acquired him in July, 2012, in the deal that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco -- interestingly, one of the other players the Phillies acquired was currently-former, then-future Ranger Rule 5 guy Seth Rosin, who spent a brief period with the Rangers in 2014 before being sent back to Philly.

Joseph spent the bulk of 2016 and all of 2017 with the Phillies, putting up a combined .247/.297/.460 slash line. After a promising 813 OPS in 2016, Joseph slumped to 721 in 2017, with a .289 OBP.

The righthanded hitting first baseman appears to have an option remaining, as he was outrighted by the Phillies in October, 2015, after having been optioned in 2014 and 2015. The Phillies purchased his contract in 2016 when he was brought back to the majors, and it doesn’t appear that he has been optioned again. Assuming that is the case, Texas will presumably option him to AAA Round Rock.

Blackburn is expected to be out until June with an elbow issue, and thus moving him to the 60 day disabled list is not unexpected. This keeps the Rangers’ 40 man roster at 40.