Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Rays Reach Agreements With Most Pitchers on Arbitration Settlements

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Jan 9, 2026 7:00 AM ET

With the arbitration deadline arriving for the Tampa Bay Rays, the team came to an agreement with most eligible players.

It was a busy afternoon for the Rays on the arbitration front with the deadline approaching. The team had 10 players up for arbitration and was able to settle with nine out of 10. This is a pretty good percentage, with pitcher Edwin Uceta being the only one who didn’t reach an agreement.

There were a number of key players who were arbitration eligible, with the pitching staff featuring a couple of big names. While Uceta’s contract will have to wait, they did come to an agreement with Bryan Baker, Kevin Kelly, Ryan Pepiot, Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger, and Steven Wilson.

Of the six pitchers who did settle on an agreement, it was Griffin Jax who received the most at $3.65 million. Following Jax was Pepiot at $3.025 million, and Cleavinger also did well at $2.4 million. Furthermore, Wilson agreed to a $1.5 million deal, and Kelly agreed to a $925,000 contract.

Plan Going Forward

With a majority of the players arbitration-eligible settling, Tampa Bay will now have a strong idea of what their payroll situation is currently going to be. Despite new ownership coming in, the priority is to get their new stadium rolling before dramatically increasing payroll.

If payroll remains the same, that could leave them some more money to improve in a couple of areas. This is a team that recently traded a couple of key players in Brandon Lowe and Shane Baz. While the return was good, it did weaken them for 2026. However, dealing with Lowe did save them quite a bit of money after they picked up his team option.

With some money to spend, it will be interesting to see where the Rays might allocate it. The lineup appears to be the most logical spot with needs behind the plate and in the middle of the infield.

Due to the loss of Lowe, there is a lot of offensive production that needs to be replaced. Second base, shortstop, and catcher all appear to be weaknesses for the franchise offensively. Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of options in free agency to help make an impact, but some players could make some sense. The Rays were aggressive early on in free agency with a few signings, and it will be interesting to see if they do that again, knowing their financial situation a bit better.