BALTIMORE -- The Orioles continued their strong performance in arbitration rulings, winning their case against catcher Caleb Joseph on Thursday.
Joseph, one of three O's who were unable to reach an agreement for a 2017 salary, will make $700,000 in '17, which was Baltimore's figure. His camp had sought $1 million. It's still a bump up for Joseph, however, as he made $523,500 in '16.
Joseph enters camp as the favorite to earn the backup catching spot behind Welington Castillo. Baltimore isn't actively pursuing catcher Matt Wieters, who remains a free agent, and Joseph is considered a better defender than Francisco Pena. However, Pena is out of options, and Joseph has one remaining, which could factor into final spring roster decisions.
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Joseph played in 49 games last season, and he hit .174/.216/.197 with three doubles.
The news, first reported by MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman, improves the Orioles to 11-1 in arbitration hearings since Peter Angelos took over principal ownership in 1993. Reliever Brad Brach and starter Kevin Gausman are the two remaining arbitration hearings for Baltimore.
Per MLB rules, when a player is still under team control and is arbitration-eligible, if the two sides cannot reach an agreement, it goes to a hearing where it's decided by a panel of three arbitrators.