Rays Make Their First Move of the Off-season - And it's a Big One!

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Rays made room in their starting rotation for David Price and filled one of the few holes on their American League Champion squad by trading Starter Edwin Jackson to the Detroit Tigers for Outfielder Matt Joyce, a Tampa-born native, who hit .252 with 12 home runs and 33 rbi in 92 games for the Tigers. The 24yd old Armwood High graduate spent this season bouncing between Toledo of Triple-A and the Tigers and exploded onto the scene with 5 home runs in his first 36 at bats. Strikeouts got the better of him in the big leagues, something he's worked hard on in the Mexican Fall League. Joyce is considered to have promising big league power and excellent range in the outfield.

"We've gotten really good reports on his work ethic, his makeup, on the intangibles that elevate his tools in terms of being a 'baseball player,' and that's kind of the ultimate compliment as we go through looking at guys," Friedman told the St. Petersburg Times.

The Rays gave up a solid pitcher in Jackson, who improved to 14-11 this season. Tampa Bay's depth in the farm system, especially the rise of David Price and Jeff Neimann, made Jackson expendable. Joyce is expected to compete and potentially solidify the right field position for Tampa Bay. The Rays are still in the market for a designated hitter bat with Milton Bradley and Jason Giambi on the radar.