NORFOLK — Joseph Rosa admits that he sometimes wakes up and has to remind himself what city he’s in.
It’s hard to blame the Norfolk Tides infielder; since signing with the Seattle Mariners as a 17-year-old free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, Rosa has played for 14 teams in three countries at nearly every level of professional baseball.
Just two weeks ago, in fact, the 26-year-old Rosa wasn’t even with an affiliated club, playing instead for Mariachis de Guadalajara of the independent Mexican League.
But since the Baltimore Orioles signed him May 24 and assigned him to Norfolk, Rosa has done nothing but rake. Through 12 games since joining the Tides, he’s batting .356 with no home runs and five RBIs.
Rosa went 0 for 4 with an RBI walk in Sunday’s 13-4 win over Gwinnett in the finale of a seven-game series at Harbor Park.
As has been the case all season for first-place Norfolk, others picked up the slack. Robbie Glendinning and Colton Cowser homered for Norfolk, which took five games in the series.
Rosa, who was born in New York City but spent his childhood in the Dominican Republic after age 7, didn’t come out of nowhere. He kind of came out of everywhere.
Rosa had been out of affiliated ball since opting for free agency following the 2021 season. That came after nine stops in the Mariners’ organization, followed by a successful 2022 season in the independent Atlantic League, two stints in the Dominican Winter League and time this season with two teams in Mexico.
Just like that, Rosa finds himself on the cusp of the major leagues with the Orioles.
“It’s been kind of a ride,” Rosa said. “I thought it was going to take me more time to come back again. But it was really quick.”
Rosa came to Baltimore’s attention rather organically. When he played for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican following the 2020 and ’22 seasons, Felipe Alou Jr. was on the coaching staff.
Alou, now the manager at high Class-A Delmarva, saw something he liked and put in a word with the parent club.
When the Tides found themselves with a need on the infield, Rosa was summoned.
“He’s just a guy who came in with some energy, and he’s playing really well,” Norfolk manager Buck Britton said. “He’s picking us up at shortstop, at second. It just goes to show that there’s players everywhere.”
Success is not entirely new for Rosa, who has put in 691 professional games and more than 2,800 plate appearances. Playing for Gastonia in the Atlantic League last season, he hit .308 with 21 homers and 92 RBIs in 124 games.
Chris Vallimont, a right-hander who has roomed with Rosa for about a week now, has marveled at the new guy’s ability at the plate.
“I was kind of asking him: I was like, ‘What did you hit in the Mexican League, like .800?’ ” Vallimont said. “Because he comes over here and he’s hitting, like, .500. I was like, ‘Golly!’ ”
Rosa’s approach, he said, has been simple. He’s worked on being selective when he swings while trying to stay in the middle of the field.
It’s worked so far, though sustaining such success is rare.
Still, despite his serpentine path to Norfolk, Rosa is optimistic that his bat and his glove could make him an asset in the major leagues.
“I think I could keep playing good and help somebody out up there,” he said. “Whatever they want, I’ll do.”
Vallimont, a 26-year-old Pennsylvanian, described Rosa as a “quiet” roommate with whom he’s building a friendship.
“Awesome guy to be around,” Vallimont said. ‘I have no complaints. Really, this whole team is awesome to be around. Fun group of guys to be with.”
For Britton, a former scrappy utilityman who would do anything he could to get his name on the lineup card as a player, having Rosa on the roster only adds to what already has been one of the best Tides teams in recent memory, in an organization stocked with elite prospects.
“Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough that we found and a good thing for the organization,” Britton said. “Bringing in competition is always good, man. It raises the level of everybody’s game.”
David Hall, [email protected]. Twitter @DavidHallVP.
