Rays Notes: Matt Joyce Begins Rehab, Richie Shaffer Begins Pro Career

Matthew Joyce joined Evan Longoria on the high-profile rehab setback list, but he’s finally off of it as he appeared in his first game since July 4th. As we detailed in our Rays minor league recap, he went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Nice to see Joyce get back in the swing of things and can’t wait to see him donning a Rays uniform again in the near future.

2012 Rays first round pick Richie Shaffer is a long way from the Rays, but he is now wearing a professional cap for the first time as he begins his pro career with the Short Season-A Hudson Valley Renegades. Sean T. McMann of the Poughkeepsie Journal has the tweet and the picture.

.@RaysBaseball 2012 top draft pick @RShaff8 (http://t.co/DKyu5oZW) on joining @HVRenegades: "I just want to be a good teammate" #gades #rays
— Sean T. McMann (@SeanTMcMann) July 15, 2012

The Rays have had a lot of guys on the DL this season, but it’s hard to feel sorry about them because they’re making millions of dollars. The people on the “DL” that we do care about are kids in local hospitals, and it’s to see the Rays visiting them.