Tommy Joseph healthy for start of spring training

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Tommy Joseph spent most of the fall with his left wrist in a cast. The Phillies catching prospect was sidelined from baseball for five months.

"It kind of stunk," said Joseph. "But it's all worth it because you just think about preparing for spring training."

Doctors cleared him in early January and Joseph arrived here on January 15. The early arrival afforded him a month to prepare for spring training.

"It was nice to start doing things again," Joseph said. "I'm in spring training with no restrictions or anything like that. Nothing should stop me."

Joseph played 21 games last season with Double-A Reading. The 23-year-old hit .282 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. He injured his wrist in May and tried to rehab it in the Gulf Coast League. Joseph played six games before having season ending surgery on Aug. 5.

He was the key player the Phillies acquired in the trade that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco in 2012. His path to the majors has been derailed by a series of concussions, which caused him to miss time in each of the last three seasons.

Joseph has combined for just 72 at-bats over the last two seasons. He said "it feels pretty good" to enter spring training free of injury.

"It's been a while," Joseph said. "It's been a pretty good chunk of time since I was healthy and able to do things and not feel pain. It's pretty exciting."