Pittsburgh Pirates swiss army knife Connor Joe has transformed in front of our very eyes into a power hitter and defensive star. Today, we are gonna walk through Joe’s career to this point and how he has impacted the Pirates thus far.

Connor Joe was drafted 39th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of San Diego State as an outfielder. Joe, during his first couple seasons in the minor leagues, was moved all around the diamond but spent a lot of time at first and third base. Joe made it up to Double A Altoona, where he got hurt and as soon as he came back he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Sean Rodriguez. By season’s end, Joe was traded once more; this time to the LA Dodgers.  The following offseason he was picked up by the Cincinnati Reds in the rule 5 draft and then was traded months later again to the San Francisco Giants. His stint with the Giants was very short, as he would eventually be returned to the Dodgers. In 2020, Joe battled and beat testicular cancer and opted out of the entirety of the season. The Colorado Rockies would pick up Joe on a minor league deal in 2021, with a shot to crack the big league club. He would bounce up and down between the minors and the big leagues, but still put up solid numbers getting in 63 games. He slashed a .285 average, 35 RBIs, and 8 home runs. In 2022, Joe played almost double the amount of games in 111. The statistics were not as good as they were in 2021, but still a respectable line of .238 average, 28 RBIs, and 7 home runs. In the offseason, Joe was sent back to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for RHP prospect Nick Garcia. 

This season, Joe is off to a hot start in his 15 games played hitting a .340 average, a 1.061 OPS, 8 RBIs, and 2 home runs. Joe’s addition to this team has been one of the most criminally underrated ones of the offseason as he has provided power, stability, and depth to a team that desperately needed it. From bouncing around from team to team, fighting off cancer, to eventually coming home. Connor Joe’s MLB career has been a wild one; and it seems to just be getting started. Welcome home Connor, we all missed you.