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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Elbow healthy, Joyce glad to be back with Rays

Posted Jun 24, 2010 by Roger Mooney

Updated Jun 24, 2010 at 06:11 PM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG Matt Joyce was in the visiting clubhouse at Victory Field in Indianapolis on Thursday afternoon, getting ready for batting practice when Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo approached with a new set of plans.

“Let’s go,” Montoyo said. “Get out of here.”

That’s how Joyce learned he was headed back to the big leagues.

The Tampa native was recalled because he proved his right elbow, injured during spring training, is healthy, because the Rays need a jolt of offense from his left-handed bat and because Rays left fielder Carl Crawford suffered an injury to his left shoulder Wednesday night while making a throw to the plate that eventually forced him out of Thursday’s win against the Padres after two innings.

To make room on the roster, the Rays optioned catcher Dioner Navarro to Durham.

Joyce was scheduled to fly from Indianapolis to Tampa on Thursday night and is expected to be in the lineup Friday when the Rays begin a three-game series with the visiting Diamondbacks.
Joyce batted .293 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 25 games for the Bulls. He had a .435 on-base percentage and a .478 slugging percentage.

“Knocking on the door? He’s pounding on it,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said when asked before Thursday’s game about Joyce making a push to get back to the big leagues.

Maddon said Joyce will play in the outfield and serve as the designated hitter. His playing time could increase if Crawford’s injury turns out to be something more than the “day-to-day” diagnosis Crawford offered after Thursday’s game.

Joyce appeared in 11 games last season with the Rays over two stints. He was expected to be a big part of the team this season, forming a platoon in right field with Ben Zobrist. But he strained his throwing elbow March 11 before a spring training game while working on making throws to the plate before batting practice.

Originally called “day-to-day,” the injury shelved Joyce for most of spring training and landed him on the disabled list at the start of the regular season. He was sent to Durham on May 31 to play the elbow back into shape.

“I wanted everyone to know the arm was feeling good,” Joyce said by phone from Victory FIeld. “I’d go up to Charlie every day and say, ‘Hey Charlie, I feel good man. Just letting you know.’ I’m sure he’s had enough of me.”

Joyce said his arm is not 100 percent, but it certainly won’t hold him back.

“I made three throws (Wednesday), and they were all one-hoppers to the plate,” Joyce said. “I hadn’t had too many chances to make throws like that, but (Wednesday) I had a chance to throw and they actually held the runners. It’s not 100 percent, but it feels awesome. I’m not afraid to let it fly and let it go.”

Joyce wasn’t sure how long he would be at Durham. They Rays were among the hottest teams in baseball when he was optioned back to Triple A.

“Anytime you’re optioned down, you never really know,” he said. “I took the mindset I had to earn my way back. I had to show them that I was healthy and ready to come up and help the team win. So I grinded every at-bat and worked real hard.”

Here is the irony of the timing of Joyce’s promotion:

He will be in the lineup Friday because the Diamondbacks are throwing a right-hander – former Ray Edwin Jackson, who was traded after the 2008 season to Detroit for Joyce.