According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay Rays' outfielder/DH Matt Joyce expects to be traded sometime during the upcoming off-season. Joyce is arbitration-eligible, and his salary will likely raise to around $5 million, which is probably more than the Rays are willing to pay for him.
"I think there's a good chance," Joyce said. "Just knowing the organization and how they operate and how many young guys they have in the outfield and coming up through the system. But it's not anything I'm bitter about or anything like that. I think it's just part of the game and how they operate, how they do business and I understand that."
Joyce was acquired by Tampa Bay from Detroit in December of 2008, but never really panned out like the Rays had hoped. After mashing 19 homers and driving in 75 runs in his All-Star season of 2011, Joyce has been a continual disappointment. His inability to hit left-handed pitching has held him back from being an everyday player, and five million dollars is a lot of money for a low-budget club to pay a part-time outfielder.
Joyce, a Tampa native, has failed to find any sort of consistency with his hometown team, but his power and overall offensive potential will make him an attractive commodity for several teams this winter in all likelihood. Even if Tampa Bay brought him back, as Joyce alluded to, it might be tough to find a spot for him , considering the plethora of outfield talent that currently resides on the Rays' roster.
Joyce, after a hot start to the season, has cooled off considerably the last few months of this 2014 campaign. The 30-year-old boasts a slash line of .252/.348/.379 to along with 8 homers and 51 RBI in 404 at bats. Joyce is not short on talent, but he'll have to figure out how to hit left-handers if he ever expects to be more than a part-time player.