Joshua Matthew Rupe (born August 18, 1982) 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 professiona ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

. 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 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) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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 American League's eight charter ...

Career

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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in the 3rd round of the

2002 Major League Baseball Draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

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 its fir ...

, Rupe was acquired by the Texas Rangers along with

Frank Francisco Franklin Thomas Francisco (born September 11, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. Baseball career Fr ...

and minor leaguer 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 Wor ...

in July 2003. 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 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

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

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He was recalled to the Rangers 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 In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League ...

role. Rupe failed to make the big league roster to start the 2007 season, and was optioned to the RedHawks. In 2008, Rupe made the major league roster and appeared in 46 games. He was granted free agency on November 9, 2009. On November 25, 2009, Rupe signed a minor league deal with the

. He made the Royals' 25 man roster, but on May 12, 2010, Rupe was designated for assignment. He signed a minor league contract with the

in November 2010. He was later added to the 40-man roster before being

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 play ...

on May 10, 2011. On August 5, 2011 Josh Rupe was released by the

. He last played for the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, an ...

of the

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

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 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 Sportspeople from Portsmouth, Virginia