The Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bays agreed to a trade that will send fan favorite Matt Joyce to the west coast for reliever Kevin Jepsen. Joyce, who was an All-Star in 2011, spent six of his seven seasons in the majors with Tampa Bay coming to the Rays in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. He will join Los Angeles with a .250/.342/.441/.783 slash line in 725 career games.
“Matt was an important part of this team for the last six seasons. We appreciate his many contributions to the Rays on the field, and the professionalism he brought to the ballpark,” Rays vice president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. “We’re excited about the experience Kevin brings to the bullpen, and his ability to pitch in key moments of the game.”
Jepsen is 13-18 with a 3.94 ERA over seven seasons for the Angels. He had a career-high 75 strikeouts in 65 innings in 2014, while posting a career-low 2.63 ERA.
The trade will save the Rays some payroll with Joyce expected to make near $5million in salary arbitration. Jepsen’s projected arbitration salary is $2.6 million.
Jepsen will join the back in of a Rays bullpen and could help with the loss for Rays closer Jake McGee who underwent elbow surgery and will start the year on the DL
