Joshua Matthew Rupe (born August 18, 1982) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers,

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Career

Chicago White Sox

Rupe was drafted by 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in the 3rd round, with the 90th overall selection, of the

2002 Major League Baseball draft The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis (author), Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first r ...

out of

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held it ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level

Bristol White Sox Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, posting a 3-3 record and 5.26 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 17 games. Rupe began the 2003 campaign with the Single-A

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte, and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. ...

, registering a 5-5 record and 3.02 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 6 saves in innings pitched across 26 games.

Texas Rangers

Rupe was acquired by the Texas Rangers along with Frank Francisco and Anthony Webster to complete an earlier trade for

Carl Everett Carl Edward Everett III (born June 3, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. A switch hitter, he played for eight teams over the course of a 14-year career. He was a member of the Chicago White Sox when they won the 2005 ...

on July 25, 2003. On September 16, 2005, Rupe was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 4 games during his rookie campaign, he recorded a 2.79 ERA with 6 strikeouts across innings pitched. Early in the 2006 season, Rupe was placed on the 60-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

due to an inflamed left elbow. Upon his recovery, he spent time rehabbing with the Triple-A

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Rupe was promoted to the major leagues on July 28, 2006, and finished the season working out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

in a middle relief role. In 16 total appearances, Rupe compiled an 0-1 record and 3.41 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 29 innings of work. Rupe failed to make the big league roster to start the 2007 season, and was optioned to the RedHawks. In 9 starts split between Oklahoma City and the rookie-level Arizona League Rangers, he accumulated a 2-2 record and 4.28 ERA with 23 strikeouts over 40 innings of work. Rupe made 46 appearances out of the

for Texas during the 2008 season, playing a 3-1 record and 5.14 ERA with 53 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rupe's innings total in 2008 would tie J.P. Howell for the most relief innings pitched for the 2008 regular season. Rupe pitched in 4 games for the Rangers in 2009, struggling to a 15.43 ERA with 2 strikeouts across innings pitched. On April 18, 2009, Rupe was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Rangers. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 28. Rupe elected free agency following the season on November 9.

Kansas City Royals

On November 25, 2009, Rupe signed a minor league contract with the

. On April 16, 2010, the Royals selected Rupe's contract, adding him to their active roster. In 11 appearances for Kansas City, he compiled a 1-1 record and 5.59 ERA with 8 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rupe was

following the promotion of Blake Wood on May 12. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

two days later. Rupe elected free agency on October 5.

Baltimore Orioles

On November 29, 2010, Rupe signed a minor league contract with the

. On March 30, 2011, the Orioles selected Rupe's contract after he made the team's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. In 9 appearances for Baltimore, he logged a 5.65 ERA with 7 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rupe was designated for assignment by the Orioles on May 10. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

on May 12. Rupe was released by the Orioles organization on August 5.

Somerset Patriots

Rupe signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

for the 2012 season. In 28 relief appearances for the Patriots, he compiled a 2-4 record and 2.73 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 15 saves over 33 innings of work. Rupe became a free agent following the season.

Personal

He is married to April Winfree Rupe and has two sons and a daughter.

References

External links

Minor League Splits and Situational Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rupe, Josh 1982 births Living people Texas Rangers players Kansas City Royals players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Portsmouth, Virginia Major League Baseball pitchers Bristol White Sox players Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players Kannapolis Intimidators players Clinton LumberKings players Stockton Ports players Spokane Indians players Frisco RoughRiders players Oklahoma RedHawks players Arizona League Rangers players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Omaha Royals players Norfolk Tides players Somerset Patriots players