Glasnow among 5 Rays to avoid arbitration

January 10th, 2020

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays came to an agreement and avoided arbitration with all five of their eligible players before Friday’s 1 p.m. ET deadline to exchange salary figures: pitchers , and , outfielder and infielder are all locked into one-year deals for the 2020 season.

Of the group, Glasnow, who finished with a 1.78 ERA in 12 starts last season, is expected to have the biggest impact. Tampa Bay settled with Glasnow at $2.05 million for 2020, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Glasnow’s deal provides great value for the Rays. The right-hander was on his way to a Cy Young Award-caliber season last year -- he won American League Pitcher of the Month honors in April -- before missing nearly four months with a mild right forearm strain. The club expects him to be a key piece in the rotation over the next couple of seasons after he earned $566,700 in '19.

Renfroe, who was acquired from the Padres on Dec. 6, is looking to build off a season that included 33 homers. He is expected to be a big part of Tampa Bay's lineup, and the two sides settled at $3.3 million, multiple sources told MLB.com.

Both Glasnow and Renfroe were in the first years of arbitration eligibility as Super Two players, meaning they have four years of arbitration eligibility rather than the usual three. They won’t be free agents until after the 2024 season.

For the second consecutive year, Roe and the Rays found common ground and avoided arbitration. The two sides settled at $2,185,200, a source Feinsand. Roe battled some early struggles in Tampa Bay's bullpen, but he was able to find a consistent release point for his slider towards the end of the year. At the beginning of the offseason, there were some questions whether Roe would be non-tendered by the organization, but the right-hander will be relied on heavily in 2020 -- especially against right-handed hitters.

Drake and Robertson also received a salary increase on Friday. According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, Robertson and Drake each settled at $1.025 million with Tampa Bay. Drake was a pleasant surprise in 2019, while Robertson will look to put a disappointing season behind him and return to his '18 form.