Joseph Anthony Palumbo Jr. (born October 26, 1994) is an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is a free agent. The Texas Rangers selected Palumbo in the 30th round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. and he made his

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) debut for them in 2019.

Amateur career

Palumbo transferred to

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School , motto_translation = In Faith and in Gentleness , address = 1170 Montauk Highway , city = West Islip , county = ( Suffolk County) , state = New York , zipcod ...

, in

West Islip, New York West Islip is a hamlet and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

after his sophomore year of high school. Due to institution age rules, he was forced to reclassify back to a sophomore and complete five years of high school. Due to New York State rules, he was deemed to have exhausted his eligibility after his junior year (his fourth season) and was made ineligible for his senior season. He instead pitched for the Long Island Black Sox, a local men's league baseball team, where he was seen by Rangers area scout Takeshi Sakurayama. The Texas Rangers selected Palumbo in the 30th round, with the 910th overall selection, of the

. He signed for a $32,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, forgoing a commitment to

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Greater Houston with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Channelview, De ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

After signing, he made his professional debut with the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed ...

of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...

, going 1–1 with a 5.03 ERA in innings pitched in which he struck out 22 batters. In 2014, he returned to the AZL Rangers and compiled a 4–4 record with 49 strikeouts and a 2.32 ERA over innings in 14 games (seven starts). In 2015, he pitched for the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

and the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, pitching to a combined 3–3 record with a 3.07 ERA over innings in 13 games (nine starts). Palumbo spent 2016 with Hickory where he posted a 7–5 record with 8 saves and a 2.24 ERA in innings pitched with 122 strikeouts (11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings). Palumbo began 2017 with the

Down East Wood Ducks The Down East Wood Ducks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the owned-and-operated Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a local colorful wa ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. After compiling a 0.66 ERA with 22 strikeouts over innings in three starts, he underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

in April, and missed the remainder of the season. The Rangers added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2017 season. Palumbo rehabbed through

in the first half of the 2018 season, returning to game action June 24. In a combined 11 starts between the AZL Rangers, Down East, and

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, he posted a 2–4 record with a 2.78 ERA and 59 strikeouts in innings (11.7 strikeouts per 9 innings). He was named an MiLB 2018 Organization All Star. Palumbo was ranked as the #105 overall prospect in baseball by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's Keith Law, on his ''just missed'' preseason 2019 Top 100 list. In 2019, Palumbo split minor league time between Frisco and the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, going a combined 3–0 with a 3.01 ERA and 108 strikeouts over innings (12.0 strikeouts per 9 innings). He was named an MiLB 2019 Organization All Star. On June 8, he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time, to start versus the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. In his debut, he allowed four runs over four innings of work, while recording four strikeouts. Palumbo missed over three weeks due to a blister suffered during a game on August 20. Palumbo finished the 2019 season going 0–3 with a 9.18 ERA and 21 strikeouts over innings (11.3 strikeouts per 9 innings) for Texas. Palumbo appeared in just two games for Texas in 2020, before missing the rest of the season after being diagnosed with

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and a ...

. Palumbo played the 2021 season with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the

Triple-A West The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

league. Before suffering a season-ending back injury, Palumbo pitched only innings.

San Francisco Giants

On November 5, 2021, Palumbo was claimed off waivers by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. Palumbo became a free agent on November 30 after he was non-tendered by the Giants. On December 13, 2021, Palumbo re-signed with the Giants. He made 3 appearances for the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

, struggling immensely to the tune of a 33.75 ERA with one strikeouts in 1.1 innings pitched. On July 4, 2022, Palumbo was released by the Giants.

Texas Rangers (second stint)

On February 20, 2023, Palumbo signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. He pitched in 3 games for the Triple-A

, recording a 9.00 ERA with no strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work. Palumbo was released by the Rangers on May 17.https://www.milb.com/transactions/2023-05-17/p-1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palumbo, Joe 1994 births Living people American people of Italian descent People from Stony Brook, New York Sportspeople from Brookhaven, New York Baseball players from Suffolk County, New York St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School alumni Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Arizona League Rangers players Spokane Indians players Hickory Crawdads players Down East Wood Ducks players Frisco RoughRiders players Nashville Sounds players Round Rock Express players Arizona Complex League Giants players Sacramento River Cats players