Just days after the Pirates pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, the Pirates made a move that could bring them the outfield depth they have been looking for.
According to FoxSports.com, the Pirates have reportedly come to a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Matt Joyce that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Last year Joyce had a rough season with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hitting .174 with 5 home runs and 21 RBI. While the numbers from last season do not look promising, taking a look at his career stats helps ease the pain a little bit.
Last season was the worst in what has been an overall consistent career. Joyce is a career .242 hitter with a .335 on base percentage and a .426 slugging percentage. He has shown some consistent power over his career as well, hitting 10 or more home runs in five of his eight major league seasons. He was named an all-star during the 2011 season while playing with the Tampa Bay Rays where he hit .277 with 19 home runs and 75 RBI.
Looking a little deeper into his offensive stats, Joyce was a victim of bad luck as he only had a .215 BABIP. When he was able to put the ball in play, it was not consistently finding holes and a lot of plays were made. Another problem with Joyce is he is not very good at working the count. During the course of his career, he averages seeing 4.06 pitches per at bat and last season that number was only at 3.78. Joyce likes to swing early in the count and it has effected him over the course of his career.
Defensively, he has shown some promise showing that he is able to play both corner outfield positions rather effectively. Last season, in 65 games played in the outfield he committed 1 error and held a .990 fielding percentage. He also had an impressive 95 put outs last season in 98 total chances.
Joyce has been a pretty consistent defender over his career keeping his fielding percentage above .970, and holding an average of about 2.2 WAR for his career. As stated before, last year was the worst season of his career and he posted a -1.0 WAR. He could be a very dependable fourth outfielder option for the Pirates to rely on barring any tiredness or injury to either Polanco, Marte, or McCutchen.
I feel that this is a smart pickup by the Pirates. Joyce is signed to a minor league contract, so if he does not work out it will not cost the Pirates too much money. However, if he turns out to be the big find of the off season, the Pirates have a dependable guy to back up their already star studded outfield. Looking at the current active roster, there is no true outfielder to play the fourth outfielder role. Both Sean Rodriguez and Jason Rodgers could fill in there if needed, but neither is the true outfielder that you want on the field.
Joyce is a native of Tampa Bay, Florida and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 12th round of the 2005 draft. He was then traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Edwin Jackson prior to the 2009 season. Prior to last season he was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for pitcher Kevin Jepsen.
I am a huge fan of this signing. Joyce has proven over the course of his career that he can be a productive member of any major league baseball team. This was most evident in the 2011 season when he was named an all-star for his efforts. He does not have to play at that type of level to be a successful get for the Pirates. He just needs to be a consistent hitter who can be relied upon on an as needed basis.
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