The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed infielder Corban Joseph from the San Francisco Giants. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates have transferred Chris Archer to the 60-day IL.
Joseph is 30 years old, turning 31 at the end of October. He’s only had 83 plate appearances in his career in the majors, mostly spanning over the last two seasons. He has a .169/.217/.260 line in that time, including a .438 OPS this season. Joseph did well in Triple-A this year, hitting for a 1.006 OPS, but that has yet to carry over to the majors.
It’s hard to see what the Pirates are looking at with this move. Joseph does have six years of control remaining, but he’s also going to be 31 next year, and has yet to show any MLB success. The Pirates have better and more promising depth options in guys like Kevin Kramer, Cole Tucker, and Jose Osuna. Joseph isn’t a guy who should be taking time from any of those players.
