Thole is traveling with the Yankees as part of their taxi squad, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Thole began the season near the bottom of the team's catching depth chart, but an injury to Kyle Higashioka (oblique) and the retirement of Chris Iannetta has catapulted Thole to taxi-squad status. Though he's unlikely to be activated barring injury or illness to either Gary Sanchez or Erik Kratz, Thole will likely accompany the team on road trips until Higashioka is able to return. The Yankees' acquisition of Rob Brantly on Wednesday does cast some question about Thole's place on the depth chart moving forward, however.
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Yankees' Josh Thole: Optioned to alternate camp
Rotowire
Thole has been assigned to the Yankees' alternate training site.
Given Thole's place at the bottom of New York's catching depth chart, it comes as no surprise that he won't be part of the big-league roster to begin the season. He'll instead provide a veteran presence as part of the Yankees' satellite camp.
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Yankees' Josh Thole: Makes 60-man player pool
Rotowire
Thole has been named part of the Yankees' 60-man roster.
Thole joined the Yankees on a minor-league deal in January and now finds himself filling the role of organizational depth behind the plate. The veteran has not logged a major-league at-bat since 2016, so he's unlikely to see much, if any, playing time this season.
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Yankees' Josh Thole: Signs minors deal with Yankees
Rotowire
Thole signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees on Tuesday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
Thole has played 478 career big-league games, but none of them have come since 2016. With a career .242/.313/.306 slash line and no recent major-league experience, he'll likely serve as organizational depth this season.
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Angels' Josh Thole: Moves across town
Rotowire
Thole was traded from the Dodgers to the Angels on Friday along with Adam McCreery in exchange for cash considerations.
The Angels need another catcher with Jonathan Lucroy out with a concussion and a broken nose and Kevan Smith dealing with a sprained hand. Thole will report to Triple-A Salt Lake, indicating that Smith is likely ready to go. Thole is good enough to fill in at the position if called upon, but nothing about the eight-year veteran's .242/.313/.306 career slash line suggests he'll be a fantasy asset if he gets a chance with the Angels.
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Dodgers' Josh Thole: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Thole has been promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.
Austin Barnes sustained a groin injury Sunday, so Thole's promotion is a likely sign that catching prospect Will Smith is headed to the big leagues, per Gurnick. Thole was slashing .277/.368/.400 for Double-A Tulsa before the move.
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Dodgers' Josh Thole: Links up with Dodgers
Rotowire
Thole signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Thole hasn't appeared in the majors since 2016, when he hit .169/.254/.220 across 136 plate appearances for the Blue Jays. He spent time in the independent Atlantic League in 2018, slashing .317/.425/.367 across 17 games. Look for him to serve as organizational catching depth in 2019.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Thole: Out at least four months
Rotowire
Thole underwent surgery this spring to repair a torn hamstring and won't be able to ramp up activities until at least early August, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports.
He was in camp on a minor-league deal with Arizona, but it seems unlikely that he will be able to play in a game this season. Thole expressed a desire to play in winter ball as a way to limit his time away from competition.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Thole: Shifted to minors camp
Rotowire
Thole (hamstring) was reassigned to minor league camp Friday.
The backstop already wasn't expected to play in the majors this year due to recently suffering a significant hamstring tear. If a second opinion upholds that dire prognosis, this procedural move may be only the first step to shutting Thole down completely.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Thole: Diagnosed with hamstring tear, will seek second opinion
Rotowire
Thole has been diagnosed with a "significant" hamstring tear that could sideline him for the entire season, Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com reports.
According to Piecoro, Thole will seek a second opinion on his injury, but the indication is that surgery is a possible course of action. Despite the loss of Welington Castillo this offseason, Arizona does have a group of serviceable catchers on the roster with Chris Iannetta and Jeff Mathis. Thole, a non-roster invitee, was unlikely to make the Opening Day roster prior to his injury.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Thole: Helped off field
Rotowire
Thole was holding his left hamstring as he was helped off the field Wednesday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.
The severity of the injury still isn't clear, so he should be considered day-to-day until the Diamondbacks update his status. Thole is just 1-for-9 (.111) this spring, and will likely serve as organizational depth in 2017.
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Diamondbacks' Josh Thole: Inks minor league deal with Diamondbacks
Rotowire
Thole agreed to a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks on Monday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.
Thole was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in 2016 after struggling at the plate to the tune of a .169 batting average over 50 games played. He has never been much of an offensive threat and will likely provide organization catching depth for the Diamondbacks in 2017.
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Josh Thole: Elects free agency
Rotowire
Thole cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
He has never been good at the plate, but Thole was so bad in 2016 (.474 OPS) that he eventually lost his job as R.A. Dickey's personal catcher late in the year. His familiarity with the knuckleballer may help Thole continue sticking around the majors though, as the Braves have a need behind the dish.
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Blue Jays' Josh Thole: Loses spot-start role with Dickey in bullpen
Rotowire
Thole has just four at-bats in September, far less than any other month this season.
With R.A. Dickey seemingly moved to the bullpen for good, Thole -- Dickey's personal catcher -- is no longer needed to make spot starts behind the plate. His role on the team has been reduced to its lowest point of the season, and it's almost a certainty that Thole will not regain fantasy-relevance this season.
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Blue Jays' Josh Thole: Returning to Blue Jays
Rotowire
Thole signed a major league contract with the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Thole was DFA'd less than a week ago after the team acquired Dioner Navarro, but he'll now rejoin the Jays after clearing waivers Tuesday. While Thole isn't expected to hold a consistent role down the stretch, he'll be a part of the major league roster once rosters expand Friday.
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Josh Thole: Clears waivers, becomes free agent
Rotowire
Thole has cleared waivers and became a free agent on Tuesday, VICE Sports' John Lott reports.
He was recently designated for assignment, but apparently wanted to seek a change of scenery. As Lott notes, the line of teams waiting to sign Thole shouldn't be long, as he slashed .158/.246/.211 in 132 plate appearances this year with the Blue Jays.
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Blue Jays' Josh Thole: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Thole was designated for assignment following Sunday's 9-6 win over the Twins, Barry Davis of Sportsnet reports.
The Blue Jays bolstered their catching corps by acquiring Dioner Navarro from the White Sox over the weekend, leaving no room for Thole as the club's third backstop. Thole had been a mainstay on the Blue Jays' roster over the last four years due to his comfort with catching knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, but he rarely made an impact with his bat. He was sitting on a .164/.254/.218 batting line across 128 plate appearances this season prior to being dropped from the 40-man roster. Assuming he goes unclaimed off waivers, Thole could still opt to remain with the organization as a depth catcher at Triple-A Buffalo.T
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Blue Jays' Josh Thole: Notches RBI in Tuesday's win
Rotowire
Thole went 0-for-3 with an RBI, his seventh of the season, in Tuesday's win over the Angels.
Making his routine spot start behind the plate with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on the hill, Thole's third straight hitless effort lowered his batting average to a measly .151 on the season. The left-hand hitting catcher's splits have been equally as disappointing, as Thole's hitting .156 in 32 at-bats against southpaws, and .149 in 74 at-bats versus righties.
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Blue Jays' Josh Thole: Finding ways to produce in limited time
Rotowire
Thole went 0-for-2 and scored a run in Monday's game against the Rays.
Monday marked just the third time this season in which Thole started consecutive games for the Jays. Although the catcher's fantasy value is extremely limited, Thole has paid dividends to daily players that have rolled him out there in recent weeks. Over his last nine starts, Thole has seven hits, five RBI, three runs and three walks. These numbers don't exactly light up the scoreboard, but they are more than serviceable for a player who comes in at the bottom of the salary scale in daily formats.
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Blue Jays' Josh Thole: Has second straight two-RBI day Saturday
Rotowire
Thole went 2-for-3 with a two-RBI double in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the A's.
The reserve catcher enjoyed some rare success at the plate, opening the scoring on the day by plating Troy Tulowitzki and Darwin Barney with a two-bagger to deep right field in the third. Thole now has back-to-back multi-hit and RBI efforts, and is slashing .333/.385/.417 over 12 at-bats in July.
