Jamie Burke

Burke is a no-name, journeyman backup catcher who registers little interest, fantasy or otherwise, outside Seattle. But Mariners fans would gladly buy him a beer for plugging what had become an annoying hole in the Seattle lineup. Following last year's backup catcher, Rene Rivera, who hit .152/.184/.253, Burke filled in for starter Kenji Johjima better than could be reasonably expected, hitting .301/.363/.398. A surprise to make the team out of spring training, Burke even hit his first career home run after 123 major league games in 15 years of professional baseball. Despite that, Burke's hold on the job is tenuous as prospect Jeff Clement is almost ready to take over. If Clement's not traded, he'll likely make the big league squad sometime in 2008, making the backup job a timeshare or pushing Burke aside altogether.

Burke's no spring chicken, but is an effective bench bat/third catcher with a track record of hitting above .300 in the upper minors (and now, the majors). The Sox might be pressing their luck expecting him to be their #2 backstop though, even if only from a defensive perspective.

Burke played 72 of his 93 Triple-A games behind the plate, and proved adequate enough with the glove to put himself in the White Sox's plans for 2004 as Sandy Alomar insurance. Being on the wrong side of 30 though, Burke's future as a major league regular was yesterday.