Aug 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays left fielder
Matt Joyce(20) reacts after he struck out against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Rays have finally traded from their surplus of outfielders.
The team announced Tuesday they have traded Lakeland nativeMatt Joyceto the Los Angeles Angels for right-handerKevin Jepsen.
The Rays have reportedly been keen to move an outfielder this offseason with Joyce being the player garnering the most interest.
The addition of Jepsen likely comes hot on the heels of the news that Rays leftyJake McGeehad arthroscopic elbow surgery on Friday andwill begin the season on the disabled list.
The Rays acquired Joyce in 2008 from the Detroit Tigers forEdwin Jackson.
In 633 games with the Rays, Joyce had a slash line of .250/.342/.435 with 76 home runs and 280 RBI. In 2011 he was named an all-star.
Joyce also said he appreciated chance to play at home w/#Rays: "I loved every minute of it. I loved the organization. I had a great time.''
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays)December 16, 2014
In 2014, Joyce hit .254 with nine homers and 52 RBI in 140 games.
With Joyce now out of the fold, the Rays haveKevin Kiermaier,Desmond Jennings,Wil Myers,Brandon Guyer,David DeJesusandMikie Mahtookas outfield options on the 40-man roster.
Jepsen has spent his entire major league career with the Angels after being a second round pick in the 2002 draft.
The 30-year-old is 13-18 in seven big league seasons with a 3.94 ERA. In 2014, he threw a career high 65 innings while going 0-2 with a 2.63 ERA and two saves.
Jepsen will now join a Rays bullpen that also featuresGrant Balfour,Brad Boxbergeras well as the newly acquiredErnesto FrieriandJose Dominguez.Brandon Gomes,Jeff BeliveauandC.J. Riefenhauserare also competing for bullpen jobs.
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