Joshua Aaron Phegley (born February 12, 1988) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and current director of player development for

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago Cubs.

Amateur career

Phegley attended Terre Haute North Vigo High School in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was named Indiana's Mr. Baseball in 2006 after hitting .592 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. After high school, he attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Indiana Hoosiers baseball The Indiana Hoosiers baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Indiana University Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. The team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I and are memb ...

team. In 2007, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star. In 2009, his junior year at Indiana, he slashed .344/.467/.633 with 17 home runs and 66 RBIs in 59 games.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Phegley was drafted by the

in the first round (38th overall) of the 2009 MLB draft. Phegley started his professional career in 2009 at Class A with the Kannapolis hitting .224 with 9 home runs and 33 RBI in 52 games. Then during an injury-plagued 2010 season, Phegley spent time at three different levels in the White Sox system, rookie league

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

and Double-A

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. His totals for the 2010 season were .284, 5 home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games. He did not play the full season because he was put on the disabled list more than once as he suffered from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an uncommon blood

autoimmune disorder An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly ...

that lowers

platelet count Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby ini ...

and prevents blood from clotting.Josh Phegley Stats, Fantasy & News , MLB.com
/ref> In November 2010 surgery he had his

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

removed, because doctors were of the view that the non-vital organ which is mainly a blood filter was where his platelets were being destroyed. Phegley then began the 2011 season at Double-A Birmingham but was promoted to Triple-A

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

for the last month of the season. He hit a combined .242, 9 home runs and 56 RBI in 116 games in 2011. Phegley spent the entire 2012 season at Triple-A Charlotte where he hit .266, 6 home runs, 48 RBI in 102 games. Josh Phegley on September 7, 2013

On July 5, 2013, Phegley was promoted from Triple-A after hitting .316 with 15 home runs, 18 doubles and 41 RBI. He collected his first Major League hit and RBI on a single off of

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

pitcher

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

on July 5, 2013. On July 7, 2013, Phegley recorded his first major league home run off of David Price. Phegley's first

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

came four days later against Detroit's

Aníbal Sánchez Aníbal Alejandro Sánchez Jr. (; born February 27, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Florida Marlins and has also played for the Detroit Tig ...

. In 2013, he batted .206/.223/.299 in 65 games. In 2014, he batted .216 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 11 games.

Oakland Athletics

After the 2014 season, the White Sox traded Phegley,

Marcus Semien Marcus Andrew Semien (born September 17, 1990) is an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and ...

, Chris Bassitt, and

Rangel Ravelo Rangel Ravelo (born April 24, 1992) is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) fo ...

to the Oakland Athletics for

Jeff Samardzija Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (; born January 23, 1985), nicknamed "Shark", is an American professional former baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time All-American w ...

and

Michael Ynoa Michael Jose Ynoa Ventura ( Michel; born September 24, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Career Oakland Athletics Ynoa signed with t ...

. In 2015, he batted .249 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in 73 games. His season concluded in mid-September because he suffered a concussion when Billy Butler inadvertently hit him in the back of his head with a bat during

batting practice B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the ...

as Phegley was standing around the

batting cage A batting cage (or tunnel) is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting. The optimal material for batting cages is netting, and they are typically rectangular in shape. Chain-link fence is not required bu ...

area. In 2016, he batted .256/.314/.372 with a home run and 10 RBIs in 26 games, as his season was shortened by 97 games because he was twice on the disabled list with a strained and inflamed right knee suffering from

synovitis Synovitis is the medical term for inflammation of the synovial membrane. This membrane lines joints that possess cavities, known as synovial joints. The condition is usually painful, particularly when the joint is moved. The joint usually swel ...

(an inflammatory disease inside the membrane that lines the knee joint) for which he had surgery. He threw out 11% (1 of 9) of runners attempting to steal. On May 7, 2019, he caught

Mike Fiers Michael Bruce Fiers (; born June 15, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. Fiers has ...

' second career No-hitter. It was the first No-Hitter of the 2019 MLB season and the 300th No-Hitter in MLB histor
99
Phegley was non-tendered by Oakland on December 2, 2019, and became a free agent.

Chicago Cubs

On January 17, 2020, Phegley signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. Phegley made the team out of Spring Training and was selected to the roster on July 23. On August 30, 2020, Phegley was designated for assignment. On September 30, 2020, the Cubs selected Phegley’s contract. He became a free agent after the season. On February 3, 2021, Phegley announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Post-playing career

On August 18, 2022, Phegley was named the director of player development for

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phegley, Josh 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Terre Haute, Indiana Chicago White Sox players Oakland Athletics players Chicago Cubs players Indiana Hoosiers baseball players Kannapolis Intimidators players Bristol White Sox players Winston-Salem Dash players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball catchers Nashville Sounds players Wareham Gatemen players