AL champion Rays avoid arbitration with Glasnow, 3 others

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays agreed to terms on contracts for next season with four of the team’s six arbitration-eligible players, including right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow.

Outfielder Manuel Margot, infielder Joey Wendle and right-hander Yonny Chirinos also reached agreements Friday, leaving first baseman Ji-Man Choi and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough as the only members of the AL champions heading to arbitration hearings.

Choi, who's seeking $2.45 million while the Rays are offering $1.85 million earned the $427,148 prorated portion of his scheduled $1,150,000 salary and earned bonus while playing solid defense and batting .230 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 42 games last season. He hit .250 with two homers and four RBIs in 40 at-bats during the postseason.

The Rays are offering Yarbrough $2.3 million after the left-hander made the $214,259 prorated portion of his $578,500 salary for last season. Yarbrough, a candidate for the starting rotation in 2021, is asking $3.1 million.

Glasnow, meanwhile, will make $4 million in 2021 after receiving the $759,259 portion of the $2,050,000 he was due to earn before last season was shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With veteran right-hander Charlie Morton and 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell not returning this year, Glasnow will get an opportunity to be the No. 1 starter in a revamped rotation.

The 6-foot-8 right-hander went 5-1 with 4.08 ERA over 11 starts in 2020, ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak. He made six more starts in the playoffs, going 2-3 with a 6.28 ERA.

Margot agreed to a $3.4 million salary after earning $916,667 on his scheduled $2,475,000 salary for 2020.

After hitting .269 with just one homer and 11 RBIs during the regular season, the 26-year-old outfielder heated up in the postseason, when he batted .276 with five homers and 11 RBIs during Tampa Bay’s World Series run.

Wendle, a versatile infielder who was the starting third baseman for much of the playoffs, got a raise to $2.25 million after making the $213,185 prorated share of his $575,600 salary last season. He hit .286 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 50 games before batting .190 with no homers and five RBIs in the postseason.

Chirinos spent two stints on the injured list and was limited to three starts, going 0-0 with a 2.48 ERA, before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in late August. The 27-year-old pitcher agreed to a 2021 salary of $1,175,000 and is expected to miss most — if not all — of the season after receiving $213,593 of his $576,700 salary last year.

The Rays also announced the signing Friday of 10 international free agents, including shortstop Carlos Colmenarez and outfielder Jhonny Piron.

Colmenarez is one of five prospects from Venezuela, joining right-handed pitcher Humberto Jimenez and shortstops Luis Ariza, Jose Perez and Jesus Quevedo.

Piron, right-hander Sebastian Javier, left-hander Kikito Severino and shortstops Gabriel Arias and Nathanael Rodriguez are from the Dominican Republic.

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