National baseball writer Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Pirates have signed former American League All-Star Matt Joyce to a minor league deal.
Below are Joyce’s career stats as well as his 162-game average.
| Year | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92 | 277 | 242 | 40 | 61 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 33 | 31 | 65 | .252 | .339 | .492 | .831 |
| 2009 | 11 | 37 | 32 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | .188 | .270 | .500 | .770 |
| 2010 | 77 | 261 | 216 | 30 | 52 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 40 | 40 | 55 | .241 | .360 | .477 | .837 |
| 2011 ★ | 141 | 522 | 462 | 69 | 128 | 32 | 2 | 19 | 75 | 49 | 106 | .277 | .347 | .478 | .825 |
| 2012 | 124 | 462 | 399 | 55 | 96 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 59 | 55 | 102 | .241 | .341 | .429 | .769 |
| 2013 | 140 | 481 | 413 | 61 | 97 | 22 | 0 | 18 | 47 | 59 | 87 | .235 | .328 | .419 | .747 |
| 2014 | 140 | 493 | 418 | 51 | 106 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 52 | 62 | 111 | .254 | .349 | .383 | .732 |
| 2015 | 93 | 284 | 247 | 17 | 43 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 30 | 67 | .174 | .272 | .291 | .564 |
| 8 Yrs | 818 | 2817 | 2429 | 326 | 589 | 139 | 14 | 93 | 334 | 329 | 600 | .242 | .335 | .426 | .761 |
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 558 | 481 | 65 | 117 | 28 | 3 | 18 | 66 | 65 | 119 | .242 | .335 | .426 | .761 |
Joyce is a left-handed bat who will be looking to regain his 2011 form, which saw him post very good power and run production totals. It has been a struggle for Joyce since then, who has steadily seen his production drop.
Joyce struggled with strikeouts last year, posting a 27.1 k-rate, resulting in a very poor slash line. While financial terms are not yet available, Joyce stands an excellent chance at making the big league club even with his recent poor performance. While Sean Rodriguez and Jason Rogers could also put in time in the outfield, the team was lacking a pure “fourth outfielder” type of player for their bench. A left-handed bat, Joyce could also see considerable plate appearances against the right-handed heavy National League Central, provided he makes the 25-man roster.
