Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington has announced that Matt Joyce will be on the team’s 25-man roster, and Jeff Locke will start the year in the team’s rotation.
Multiple outlets have reported that Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington has clarified one of the biggest storylines in Spring Training: Jeff Locke‘s status.
#Pirates GM says Joyce will be on opening day roster, Jeff Locke is a, er, lock for rotation, final spot either Vogelsong or Nicasio.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) March 29, 2016
In addition, Matt Joyce was announced as joining the club on it’s Opening Day 25-man roster.
In recent weeks, Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle have indicated that the starting rotation would feature a competition for two spots among three pitchers: Locke, Ryan Vogelsong and Juan Nicasio. Nicasio has been the surprise of the spring in Bradenton, while Vogelsong has looked shaky at times. Many doubt Locke’s ability to perform as an effective long-relief bullpen arm, and this news reinforces that fact. Locke has famously been working with a new delivery this spring, and the club may feel that this change and an effective, if not spectacular, spring warrants a chance to see how it might play in the regular season.
As a refresher, Locke’s career stats:
| Year | W | L | GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0 | 3 | 6.48 | 4 | 16.2 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 59 | 6.74 | 1.860 | 0.50 |
| 2012 | 1 | 3 | 5.50 | 6 | 34.1 | 36 | 21 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 69 | 4.43 | 1.369 | 3.09 |
| 2013 ★ | 10 | 7 | 3.52 | 30 | 166.1 | 146 | 69 | 65 | 11 | 84 | 4 | 125 | 101 | 4.03 | 1.383 | 1.49 |
| 2014 | 7 | 6 | 3.91 | 21 | 131.1 | 127 | 63 | 57 | 16 | 40 | 2 | 89 | 92 | 4.37 | 1.272 | 2.23 |
| 2015 | 8 | 11 | 4.49 | 30 | 168.1 | 179 | 95 | 84 | 15 | 60 | 4 | 129 | 86 | 3.95 | 1.420 | 2.15 |
Joyce has made a late push during the team’s time in Bradenton to earn a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster. Serving strictly as a fourth outfielder, Joyce will look to recapture his 2011 All-Star form, as seen in his career stats shown below. Joyce’s chances at an Opening Day spot were greatly increased by his being a left-handed bench bat, which the Pirates desperately needed.
As a refresher, Joyce’s career stats:
| Year | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92 | 277 | 242 | 40 | 61 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 33 | 31 | 65 | .252 | .339 | .492 | .831 |
| 2009 | 11 | 37 | 32 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | .188 | .270 | .500 | .770 |
| 2010 | 77 | 261 | 216 | 30 | 52 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 40 | 40 | 55 | .241 | .360 | .477 | .837 |
| 2011 ★ | 141 | 522 | 462 | 69 | 128 | 32 | 2 | 19 | 75 | 49 | 106 | .277 | .347 | .478 | .825 |
| 2012 | 124 | 462 | 399 | 55 | 96 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 59 | 55 | 102 | .241 | .341 | .429 | .769 |
| 2013 | 140 | 481 | 413 | 61 | 97 | 22 | 0 | 18 | 47 | 59 | 87 | .235 | .328 | .419 | .747 |
| 2014 | 140 | 493 | 418 | 51 | 106 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 52 | 62 | 111 | .254 | .349 | .383 | .732 |
| 2015 | 93 | 284 | 247 | 17 | 43 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 30 | 67 | .174 | .272 | .291 | .564 |
Pirates Breakdown will have more analysis on this news in the coming days
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