Joseph Frank Butler (born March 12, 1986) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder.

[2] A standout athlete, Butler later attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before transferring to the University of New Orleans.

At New Orleans, Butler was teammates with Johnny Giavotella, and the school made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

For the 2011 season, Butler split the year between Frisco and the Triple-A Round Rock Express, hitting a cumulative .313/.388/.483 with a career-high 14 home runs and 61 RBI.

Butler was optioned back to the Triple-A Round Rock Express on August 10 to make room for Alex Ríos, but was recalled on September 3 when major league rosters expanded.

[12] After he was given his release by the Cardinals, Butler had his contract purchased by the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League of Japan on May 23, 2014.

He hit his first MLB home run on May 4, a two-run homer off of Boston Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz.

Butler was designated for assignment on July 31, 2016 to make room on the 40-man roster for Andrew Miller,[18] and was outrighted to Triple-A on August 5.

[20] Butler spent the year with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, but appeared in just 28 games due to injury and hit only .215/.311/.329 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI.