Detroit Tigers (2008) Joyce began the 2008 season with the
Triple A Toledo Mud Hens, with whom he hit .299 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in the team's first 28 games. After outfielder
Jacque Jones was
designated for assignment in early May, Joyce was called up to the Tigers in his stead. He made his major league debut on May 5, 2008, starting in right field for a 6–3 loss to the
Boston Red Sox. His first major league home run followed shortly after, in a 5–2 loss to the
New York Yankees on May 10. Joyce told reporters that he initially did not think he had hit a home run, as he saw Yankees outfielder
Bobby Abreu running for the ball, but "[t]hen I heard the crowd start cheering, so I knew it had gone out." After a strong first impression, Joyce began to struggle with hitting against
curveballs and
changeups. Joyce believed that he was putting too much effort into impressing the major league coaches. He was optioned back to Toledo at the end of May to make room for outfielder
Marcus Thames. He returned to the Tigers on June 29 when
Magglio Ordóñez was placed on the
disabled list with a pulled oblique, remaining in the
lineup even after Ordóñez returned. Joyce was named the
American League (AL) Player of the Week on July 19. He was the first rookie position player for the Tigers to win the award since
Tony Clark in 1996. He batted .295 in 35 games with Mexicali, striking out less against curveballs.
Tampa Bay Rays (2009–2014) On December 10, 2008, the Tigers traded Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for pitcher
Edwin Jackson. On April 9, Joyce hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of
Daisuke Matsuzaka in the second inning of a 4–3 victory over the
Boston Red Sox. When Upton returned from the disabled list on April 13, Joyce was optioned to the Triple-A
Durham Bulls. Joyce played only three games with the Rays in his first major-league call-up, and his only
hit in 10 at bats was the home run against Matsuzaka. In the minor leagues, Joyce helped the Bulls capture the
Triple-A National Championship in a 5–4 victory over the
Memphis Redbirds. He batted .273 in Triple-A, with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs in 111 games. In his first game upon returning, Edwin Jackson, for whom Joyce had been traded, pitched a
no-hitter against the Rays. Later that season, on July 27, Joyce hit a
grand slam in the sixth inning of
Matt Garza's no-hitter against the Tigers. His home run was also the first hit of the game, against Detroit starting pitcher
Max Scherzer. It was the second grand slam of his career, following an eighth-inning blast against the
Minnesota Twins on July 3. He batted .241 for the season, with 10 runs and 40 RBIs in 216 at bats. The Rangers went on to take the series, breaking a 39-year postseason drought. In nine postseason at bats, Joyce hit .222, with two hits and one stolen base. He received his first
All-Star Game selection that season, alongside fellow Rays
James Shields and
David Price. He cooled a bit after the All-Star break, finishing the season with a .277 average, 19 home runs, and 75 RBIs. The Rays once again lost to the Rangers at the
2011 ALDS in a 3–1 series. Joyce appeared in all four games, where he batted .200 and scored one home run and four RBIs. Joyce hit his third career grand slam on May 19, 2012, in the third inning of a 5–2 game against the
Atlanta Braves. Joyce's injury, combined with an extended absence from
Evan Longoria, caused a downturn in the Rays' season. By the time that Joyce returned, the Rays had lost 19 of their last 30 contests and had sacrificed their lead in the
AL East to the Yankees. Joyce missed 23 games before returning on July 17, and Rhymes was optioned to Durham to make room on the roster. Joyce batted .241 for the season, with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs in 124 games. In the second game of the season, Joyce recorded his first
walk-off home run against
Tommy Hunter of the
Baltimore Orioles, winning the game 8–7. The following month, he hit a two-RBI double in the ninth inning of a game against the same team, helping the Rays win 10–6, and breaking the Orioles' 109-game winning streak when leading after seven innings. Overall, Friedman described Joyce's 2013 performance as "up-and-down ... where there were a couple hot months and a couple months where he struggled more." He hit .235 with 18 home runs and 47 RBIs in 481
plate appearances. Going into the
2013 ALDS against the Red Sox, Joyce was in an offensive slump, hitting .089 in the final 21 games of the regular season. Joyce continued his slump into the playoffs, going 0 for 8 in the four-game series. The game came just over a week after Joyce gained some notoriety for hitting a ball back into a
pitching machine during batting practice. Joyce had another productive season in 2014, hitting .254 with nine home runs, but a projected raise to $5 million and steep outfield competition from Jennings, Myers, DeJesus, and
Kevin Kiermaier, made the Rays seek to trade him at the conclusion of the year.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2015) On December 14, 2014, the Rays traded Joyce to the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for right-handed reliever
Kevin Jepsen. The Angels were interested in having Joyce serve as their primary designated hitter. On February 10, 2015, Joyce signed a one-year, $4.75 million contract with the Angels. Early in the 2015 season, Joyce was scratched from a game against the
Toronto Blue Jays after arriving late to batting practice. He was later fined by the MLB. He told the
Los Angeles Times that he assumed the Monday game was at night and not in the early afternoon, and he worried that the mistake would cause friction with manager
Mike Scioscia. Troubles continued to follow Joyce, who sustained a concussion after colliding with shortstop
Erick Aybar in the fourth inning of a 13–7 victory over the
Texas Rangers on July 26. Although he was eligible to leave the concussion list seven days later, Joyce continued to suffer from residual headaches and
whiplash after the injury. He appeared in only six games in the month of September, and his final hit of the season was on July 9. Joyce batted .174 in 2015, with 43 hits, 21 RBIs, and five home runs in 247 at bats.
Pittsburgh Pirates (2016) On February 20, 2016, the
Pittsburgh Pirates signed Joyce to a minor league deal, including an invitation to spring training and a chance to make the major league roster. Throughout spring training, he was in competition with
Sean Rodriguez and
Jake Goebbert for a bench position as the Pirates' fourth outfielder. Joyce had a career revival with the Pirates, hitting .360 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in his first 40 games. Although he was rarely used as an outfielder, Joyce established himself as an effective
pinch hitter. In addition to setting an all-time single-season MLB record for pinch-hit walks with 21 in 81
plate appearances, Joyce led all pinch hitters that season in RBIs with 15 and tied for first with four home runs. He finished the season with a .242 average in 293 plate appearances.
Oakland Athletics (2017–2018) Joyce signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the
Oakland Athletics on November 30, 2016. He had an uneven start to the season, batting around .200 until the start of June, at which point he improved to a .250 average and a .429
on-base percentage. On June 4, Joyce hit a grand slam against
Shawn Kelley in the ninth inning of a game against the
Washington Nationals. Although Joyce's hit helped the Athletics to rally, they were unable to complete the comeback, and lost the game 11–10. Although his offensive performance was strong, Joyce struggled in the outfield; his .973
fielding percentage was the lowest for any Athletics outfielder since
Chris Singleton in 2003, and his seven
errors were the most by any Oakland right fielder since
Ruben Sierra in 1994. On August 5, 2017, Joyce received a two-game suspension without pay after using a homophobic slur against a fan in the eighth inning of a game against the Angels. Joyce apologized the following day, and the A's donated $54,000 from Joyce's salary to
PFLAG, an organization for families of LGBTQ+ individuals. He additionally clarified in a statement that the outburst had been motivated by a fan saying "vulgar and obscene words" about Joyce and his family, and that he "fully support[s] and hope[s] to help the LGBTQ community with their efforts in being treated fairly." Joyce finished the season with a .243 average with 25 home runs and 68 RBIs in 469 at bats. He returned to the disabled list again on July 7 with the same injury, and said that the pain had been bothering him for most of the season, and no one moment was responsible for this recurrence. His recovery process was repeatedly set back; Joyce did not begin rehab assignments until late August, and he was reactivated on September 1 when MLB rosters expanded. Appearing in only 83 games, Joyce batted .208 for the season, including seven home runs and 15 RBIs.
Atlanta Braves (2019) Joyce signed a minor league contract with the
Cleveland Indians on February 8, 2019, with an invitation to spring training. He was released from the team in mid-March, and signed another minor-league deal with the
San Francisco Giants on March 20, 2019. On March 23, the Giants traded Joyce to the
Atlanta Braves in exchange for cash considerations. Joyce served primarily as a pinch hitter for the team until August 13, when right fielder
Nick Markakis suffered a broken wrist. When Markakis returned to the lineup in September, the Braves decided to keep Joyce in right field and shift Markakis to left. Joyce batted .295 for the season in 238 plate appearances, with seven home runs and 23 RBIs. Joyce contracted
COVID-19 shortly before the Marlins' second summer training camp begun, and, although he was cleared for play prior to Opening Day, he was assigned to the team's alternate site to prepare for live pitching. The Marlins were forced to temporarily pause their 2020 season due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within the team, and when they returned to play, Joyce had been added to the active roster. Playing in 37 of the 60 games in the pandemic-shortened
2020 MLB season, Joyce recorded a .252 average, with 32 hits, 14 RBIs, and two home runs in 127 plate appearances. On October 2, Joyce threw out
Willson Contreras of the
Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning of the final game of the
2020 National League Wild Card Series. In the seventh inning, Joyce hit a double, and his pinch runner
Lewis Brinson scored off of an RBI single from
Magneuris Sierra. These two plays helped the Marlins win the game 2–0 and advance to the postseason for the first time in 17 years. The Marlins were later swept by the Braves in the
2020 National League Division Series (NLDS). Joyce took the final out of the series, a
line drive to right field that was caught by
Cristian Pache. In five postseason games with the Marlins, Joyce recorded two hits and one RBI. Both players were named to the 40-man roster on March 26. On June 1, Joyce hit a grand slam against
Cincinnati Reds infielder
Alex Blandino, who had stepped in to pitch, taking the Phillies to a 17–3 lead. Joyce suffered a strained lower back in mid-June, and was placed on the injured list on June 19, with
Matt Vierling called up in his place. On July 30, he was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. Joyce was
designated for assignment at the end of September and released into free agency on September 28, the final week of the MLB regular season. He batted just .091 for the year, with two home runs and seven RBIs in 55 at bats. == Retirement and post-playing career ==