San Francisco Giants: Who is waiver claim Corban Joseph?

As they continue to aggressively play the waiver wire, the San Francisco Giants claimed infielder Corban Joseph on Tuesday.

The San Francisco Giants have fallen out of the playoff race, but they continue to shuffle the roster with an eye on the 2020 season.

Team president Farhan Zaidi has played the waiver wire all season, finding a few diamonds in the rough along the way, and he added another intriguing piece on Tuesday.

Infielder Corban Joseph was claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics.

Moving Pablo Sandoval to the 60-day injured list opened up a spot on the 40-man roster, so no players needed to be cut loose in a corresponding move.

So who is Corban Joseph?

The 30-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2008, and he made his MLB debut with them in 2013 when he went 1-for-6 with a double and a run scored in a brief two-game stint.

He was released by the Yankees in 2014 and from there he went from the Atlanta Braves to the Baltimore Orioles to the Washington Nationals and back to the Orioles before landing in Oakland on a waiver claim this past December.

After hitting a robust .371/.421/.585 with 35 doubles, 13 home runs and 73 RBI in 425 plate appearances with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate before he was called up to the MLB roster on Aug. 14.

While he went 5-for-16 with a home run in his first four games following the promotion, he was just 2-for-21 after that prior to being designated for assignment.

With team control through the 2024 season and one minor league option remaining, he will at the very least provide some useful middle infield depth in the upper levels of the minors.

The front office hit on a similar player this past offseason when Donovan Solano signed a minor league deal, and this looks like another solid no-risk, potential-reward move.

The San Francisco Giants have been looking for incremental improvements on the waiver wire all season, and they may have found another in the form of Corban Joseph on Tuesday.