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The Athletics have agreed to a 2-year, $11 million contract with outfielder Matt Joyce, according to FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. The deal is pending a physical.
Joyce, 32, signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates last February and hit .242/.403/.463 with 13 homers in 140 games for the club while playing both corner outfield spots. He had little value in free agency a year ago due to his struggles with the Angels in 2015 (.174/.272/.291 in 93 games), but was able to parlay his solid 2016 season into a multi-year deal.
Oakland was light in the outfield after the departures of Josh Reddick (traded to Dodgers) and Danny Valencia (traded to Mariners), and will utilize Joyce as an option at the corners alongside Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Brett Eibner and Jake Smolinski. Joyce should see significant time in right field, as Davis has left field locked up after a fantastic 2016 season.
Joyce is a veteran of nine major-league seasons with the Tigers (2008), Rays (2009-14), Angels (2015) and Pirates (2016). In that span, he is a career .242/.341/.429 hitter with 106 home runs. He was named to the AL All-Star team as a member of the Rays in 2011.