Catcher Caleb Joseph lost his arbitration case with the Orioles on Thursday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports. He requested $1 million while the Orioles countered at $700,000. The arbitrator agreed with the Orioles’ figure. Historically, arbitrators have been more likely to side with teams over the players, so this result is not surprising.
Joseph, 30, hit .174/.216/.197 with three doubles in 141 plate appearances last season for the Orioles. He finished the season with zero RBI, becoming the first player to take at least 100 at-bats without driving in a run.
Though the Orioles let Matt Wieters leave for free agency, they brought in Welington Castillo, so Joseph again figures to contribute in a back-up role.
