Joyce Making Up For Lost Time

Well, it was a start, and that alone was a step forward for Rays outfielder Matt Joyce.

Held back by a calf/ankle malady that was finally diagnosed as tendinitis, Joyce, the Armwood High grad whom the Rays acquired from Detroit for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, played in a minor-league game Tuesday. He went 0-for-2 with a walk, a run and a strikeout as the designated hitter against the Twins' Double-A team. Given an extra turn on base, he showed his rustiness by getting picked off.

"It was great just to get on the field and run," Joyce said. "Obviously, it's not the way you want to start it. But usually when you start bad, you have a good year."

Joyce, a Tampa native who grew up a Rays fan, entered the spring as a contender to win the left-handed hitting half of a right-field platoon. Having missed the first three weeks of camp, though, he'll have to make up ground in a hurry to win a roster spot, Manager Joe Maddon said.

Since Joyce's baffling right leg condition was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago - MRIs never showed anything more than some looseness in his ankle - trainer Ron Porterfield has been throwing the kitchen sink of sports medicine at the 24-year-old.

Cortisone injections, whirlpools, ice, strengthening exercises and a total body flexibility program "just to try to get better movement out of his hips and his back," have been part of the program, Porterfield said.

On the high-tech side, Joyce has received acupuncture-like treatment with a Class IV laser, Hivamat deep tissue oscillation, and Lymphavision treatment to stimulate the lymphatic system.

He wore an air cast for two weeks to keep the lower leg immobilized.

"Without question, it's been frustrating," Joyce said. "But like Joe Maddon says, you can only control the controllable, and I can't control the fact I've been hurt."

As a rookie in Detroit last year, Joyce hit .252 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs in 92 games. The Rays believe he can contribute this season, but they really like him for the future.

Joyce hasn't ruled out making an early impact. He'll play in the outfield in another minor-league game today and, if that goes well, he could be the Rays' DH in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.