Advertisement

Giants add OF Joyce on minor league deal

The San Francisco Giants agreed on a minor league contract with Matt Joyce on Wednesday, one day after the veteran outfielder was released by the Cleveland Indians.

The left-handed-hitting Joyce will compete for a spot on the roster, with the Giants hoping he can regain his career-best, 25-homer form with the Oakland Athletics in 2017.

Joyce, 34, struggled with the Indians this spring and was batting .185 when let go. Cleveland signed former Colorado Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez on Tuesday and informed Joyce that he wouldn't make the Opening Day roster while granting him his release.

Joyce batted just .208 with seven homers and 15 RBIs in 83 games for the Athletics last season while battling back issues. The previous season, he had 58 extra-base hits while batting .243 with 68 RBIs.

Joyce has a career batting average of .240 with 138 homers and 459 RBIs in 11 seasons with the Detroit Tigers (2008), Tampa Bay Rays (2009-14), Los Angeles Angels (2015), Pittsburgh Pirates (2016) and Athletics. He was an All-Star in 2011 when he batted .277 with 19 homers and a career-high 75 RBIs for the Rays.

--Field Level Media