The Giants announced Wednesday that they’ve signed Matt Joyce to a minor league contract. He’ll be in camp for what’s left of Major League Spring Training. Joyce is represented by ACES.
The Giants will be the second stop for Joyce this spring, as he spent the bulk of camp with the Indians before being granted his release after being informed that he wouldn’t crack the big league roster. He’ll now head to an organization with a similarly undefined outfield mix in hopes of a clearer path to the Majors.
Joyce, 34, had a rough 2018 season with the A’s (.208/.322/.353 in 246 PAs) and didn’t hit much in his limited time with the Indians this spring (5-for-27 with three walks and seven strikeouts). However, he’s only one season removed from batting .243/.335/.473 with the Athletics in 2017 and is a career .250/.351/.451 hitter in 3373 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.
San Francisco’s outfield seems likely to consist of sophomore center fielder Steven Duggar, out-of-options slugger Mac Williamson and veteran Gerardo Parra, who like Joyce is in camp on a minor league contract. Rule 5 pick Drew Ferguson is also an outfielder and could be in mix if he breaks camp, though he’s just 3-for-27 on the spring. Cameron Maybin is also in camp on as a non-roster player, but his DUI arrest earlier this month surely didn’t help his chances of landing a roster spot.
Even if Joyce doesn’t crack the 25-man roster out of camp, he could potentially head to Triple-A and serve as an early-season depth option given the Giants’ lack of established outfielders at present.
Scooping up trash basically.
Which when it’s the Indians OF leftovers it truly is scraping the bottom of the barrel…now they’ll have to patch together and OF from the other 12 AAAA OFs in camp…
I think Mac Williamson will hit .240 with 20 home runs, which is decent power considering the home ball park.. Not impressive, but ok, and better than the free agent options.
That’s pretty optimistic for a guy that’s about to turn 29 and has a career OPS+ of 83. He won’t get enough at-bats to hit 20.
Williamson was hitting well before he got hurt last year. I see him as a RH Belt. When they stay healthy, they can be very good hitters who encounter occasional cold streaks….and they get hurt a lot. If Belt can keep his head out of the way of baseballs, he will hit around 300 this year (I know, VERY optimistic, but he is a very capable hitter – and a GG). Williamson may never approach 300, but the gmen need his RH power bat in the lineup..
Belt’s had a great Spring (and he’s had other great Spring’s) but the same can’t be said of Williamson so far this year and he’s had a lot of at bats. I say Williamson will be done midway through the season injured or not
Giants needs are obvious, RH power in the outfield. LH power won’t sign to play in that ballpark. Harper never seriously considered it, IMHO.
Joyce isn’t an answer, reconfiguring the ballpark is.
Taxes made Harpers decision,check before you blab hot Air
Yes that’s true, but how was his post blabbing? You should check it before acting like a tough guy on a baeball forum.
Plus, heinie even stated “IMHO.” The tax comment was a harmless OPINION. Doesn’t deserve to be pronounced “blabbing hot air.”
imgnabog. Did California taxes make Machado’s decision or Trout’s decision?
You don’t know why Harper sign on with Philly. Trout signed for more money to stay in California. Trout is from the Philly area.
#1 you can’t reconfigure rf
#2 power hitters in general don’t sign because power dies with the wind and moisture, not just for LH
#3 taxes
Played catch with Matt Joyce once, it was pretty neat
The giants fans that post on here seemingly dont know whats going on. Theyre filling the rivercats with top prospects and surrounding them with seasoned vets. When you lack elitle talent on the big club, you have to have options in triple a that can come in a fill a spot for a short stint.
^^^ This. Not sure what Giants fans expected to happen, or where all of the anti-Zaidi rhetoric comes from. He inherited a roster full of bloated, underperforming contracts and a putrid minor league system. Relax, all. This is a step, not the destination.
True
What top prospects are currently playing for the River Cats?
I’m pretty sure he’s not talking top prospects in MLB but the top prospects for the Giants. Here are the known SF top 30 prospects in AAA. Shaun Anderson #4 Age24, Logan Webb #5 A22, Chris Shaw #11 A25, Ray Black #14 A28 (old & not a prospect IMO), Melvin Adon #15 A24, Abiatal Avelino #17 A24, Tyler Beede #24 A25,
All prospects can all benefit from a veteran.
Say what you will about Joyce, but the guy gets on base. He also was on a very low BABIP last year, so I wouldn’t be shocked if he had a productive season and served as a trade chip come July.
Giants might as well just cut maybin now
Man, if I didn’t dislike Giant’s fans so much in general I’d really feel for them. This team is all about the dumpster so far. Can easily see then losing 100 games with that current roster.
Do you even know who is on the roster?
Don’t be bitter, you know deep down you LOVE us Giant fans!! You just can’t admit it. Also Vegas doesn’t agree with you, Vegas win predictions for 2019..
Los Angeles Dodgers: 93.5
Colorado Rockies: 84.5
San Diego Padres: 76.5
San Francisco Giants: 73.5
Arizona Diamondbacks: 73.5
Hammer the Rockies over! They will win 90+ games this year.
I’d take the over on CO and SD. I’d take the under on San Fran.
That is not how Vegas works. Vegas makes lines with the intent of getting equal money on both sides of a number. They put the Giants at 73.5 wins because you think they’ll win more, and I think they’ll win less.
This is why lines move. More money comes in on one side, so the line moves (or they adjust the payout) to entice bets on the other side. If this happens as they hope, they get equal money on each side and they make about 10% after paying off the winners.
Example: you bet 110.00 on the Giants over 73.5 wins at -110 (standard odds), and I bet the under, also at -110 for 110.00 dollars.
Giants win 77 games. You win, I lose. You cash out your ticket for 210.00 (110.00 + 100.00 win), I lost my 110.00 dollars. Vegas got 220.00 dollars, paid out 210.00. Vegas wins.
Vegas doesn’t think the Giants will win 73 or 74 games. They pay people to figure out what you think is an easy money number, yet also is a number that seems the too high for someone not as bullish on the Giants as you.
Of course!
Another signing that can only help. No harm in this move. If Joyce proves useful, Giants can continue to play him or flip him at the break. They are stuck with this unit, more or less because of the bloated contracts Zaidi inherited. Let’s see how things look after some actual games are played. They’ll probably pick up another outfielder or two as guys get released over the next week or so. A couple of these moves are bound to pan out.
One aspect of the Giants front office confuses me: They know they need to improve team speed but the never do.