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The Tampa Bay Rays made a huge move yesterday when they signed former Philadelphia Phillies starter Zach Eflin to a three-year contract.
The deal is worth $40 million.
The right-hander went 3-5 and posted a 4.04 ERA during the 2022 regular season.
The veteran appeared in 20 games and made 13 starts.
The Orlando native joins a solid Rays rotation that already includes Tyler Glasnow, Drew Rasmussen, and All-Star Shane McClanahan.
Eflin emerged as the closer in the postseason for the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, recording the final out of the Wild Card series in St. Louis and the final out of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that the contract is the largest free agent deal in Rays history.
Zach Eflin’s deal with Tampa Bay, as @Joelsherman1 said, is for $40 million over three years. It’s the largest free agent contract in Rays history. Eflin, 28, grew up in Orlando and will join Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen in a fantastic Tampa Bay rotation.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2022
Rays Sign Eflin
The Rays are obviously not a team that spends a ton of money, as they are a smaller-market organization.
Tampa Bay usually makes its moves via trade.
But adding the 28-year-old will help strengthen their already solid starting rotation.
While not exactly an earth-shattering move, this is a big move for the Rays, as they look to strengthen their roster and make a deeper run into October in 2023.
Tampa Bay won 86 games during the regular season and entered the postseason as the third American League Wild Card team.
They were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Guardians.
Eflin was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2012 and made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2016.
His best season in Philadelphia came in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
That year, the right-hander went 4-2 and posted a 3.97 ERA in 11 appearances and 10 starts.
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- Shohei Ohtani showing what would happen if he only focused on hitting
- The 'MLB Rookies of the Year' quiz
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