Rays avoid arbitration with all players but Drew Smyly
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Rays agreed to one-year contracts with four of their five remaining arbitration-eligible players, leaving left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly as the only one who didn't reach terms.
Smyly went 5-2 with a 3.11 ERA last season, when injuries limited him to 12 starts.
"It's disappointing when we don't reach an agreement before the filing date, but in the case of Drew there was honest effort on both sides, there was constructive dialogue on both sides, we just failed to find common ground, and that's where the arbitrators could come into play," Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said Friday.
"I'm confident it won't alter our relationship with Drew or take away his focus on having a great season this year," Silverman added. "It's just a reality. When you look at having 10 cases, having one or two that go to a hearing is probably the expected outcome."
First baseman Logan Morrison, right-hander Erasmo Ramirez and cacthers Hank Conger and Rene Rivera all agreed to one-year deals by Friday's 1 p.m. deadline. Meanwhile, second baseman Logan Forsythe received a $10.25 million, two-year contract with a team option for 2018.
Morrison will earn $4.2 million, up from $2,725,000 last season in Seattle. Ramirez received a raise from $522,800 in 2015 to $2,375,000; Rivera from $1.2 million to $1.7 million; and Conger $1,075,000 to $1.5 million.
The Rays settled with pitchers Alex Cobb and Jake McGee and outfielders Desmond Jennings and Brandon Guyer on Thursday.
