| Brian O'Keefe | |
| Team: | Kansas City Royals |
| Position: | Catcher |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | October 1 |
| Debutyear: | 2022 |
| Debutteam: | Seattle Mariners |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2023 season |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .136 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 0 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 2 |
| Teams: |
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Brian James O'Keefe (born July 15, 1993) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Kansas City Royals organization. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th round of the 2014 MLB draft. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners.
O'Keefe attended South Colonie High School in Albany, New York and Saint Joseph's University, where played college baseball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks.[1] [2] In 2014, his junior year at Saint Joseph's, he hit .350/.423/.519 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs over 50 games.[2]
After the season, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.[3] O'Keefe made his professional debut with the Low-A State College Spikes, batting .239 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 47 games. He split the 2015 season between State College and the Single-A Peoria Chiefs, accumulating a .241/.311/.397 slash in 47 games. In 2016, O'Keefe played for Peoria and the High-A Palm Beach Cardinals, clubbing 13 home runs and 64 RBI to go along with a .252/.361/.436 triple slash. O'Keefe split the 2017 campaign between Peoria, Palm Beach, and the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, hitting .262/.320/.433 with a career-high 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 101 games between the three affiliates. He returned to Palm Beach for a third season in 2018, batting .243/.358/.412 with 6 home runs and 44 RBI in 73 contests. In 2019, O'Keefe spent the year with Springfield, slashing .229/.319/.389 with 13 home runs and 40 RBI in 88 games.[4]
On December 12, 2019, the Seattle Mariners selected O'Keefe in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft after he had spent six years in the Cardinals' minor league system.[5] O'Keefe did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] He spent the 2021 campaign split between the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, logging a slash of .269/.349/.485 while posting career-highs in home runs (24) and RBI (70) in 105 combined games. He elected minor league free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.[7]
On December 3, 2021, O'Keefe re-signed with the Mariners organization on a minor league contract and received an invitation to Spring Training.[8] He did not make the club out of spring and was assigned to Triple-A Tacoma to begin the 2022 season.[9] The Mariners promoted O'Keefe to the major leagues on September 30.[10]
On September 30, 2022, O'Keefe was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[11] On October 1, 2022, O'Keefe hit his first Major League hit off Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears.[12] He appeared in 2 games for Seattle, going 1-for-3 (.333) with a walk.
On November 18, 2022, O'Keefe was non-tendered and became a free agent.[13] On December 27, O'Keefe re-signed with the Mariners on a minor league deal.[14] He was assigned to Tacoma to begin the 2023 season, where he played in 86 games and batted .240/.325/.511 with 22 home runs and 65 RBI. On August 16, 2023, the Mariners selected O'Keefe's contract, adding him to the major league roster.[15] In 8 games for Seattle, he went 2–for–19 (.105) with two walks and two RBI. On October 13, O'Keefe was designated for assignment following the waiver claim of Kaleb Ort.[16] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Tacoma on October 17.[17] O'Keefe elected free agency on November 6.[18]
On February 13, 2024, O'Keefe signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. He was released by the Twins organization on March 27.[19]
On April 1, 2024, O'Keefe signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.[20]