The Tampa Bay Rays have made a significant addition to their pitching staff, signing right-hander Zach Eflin, who is leaving the Philadelphia Phillies.
Major League Baseball insider Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Rays were giving Eflin a three-year, $40 million deal. Rosenthal also gave credit to Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Eflin is a 7-year veteran who has spent his entire career in Philadelphia. Eflin was limited to 75.2 innings in 2022, and he had a 4.04 earned-run average along with 65 strikeouts. He was on the 60-day injured list with a knee cap problem last year.
The pitcher’s best season was 2013 when he had a 4.13 ERA while throwing a career-high 163.1 innings and striking out 129 batters. On the negative side, he allowed 28 home runs that season.
If the contract Eflin received seems a bit inflated, it’s likely because the Rays had to compete with the Boston Red Sox for Eflin’s services. According to insider Bob Nightengale, the Red Sox made a similar offer, but Eflin decided to go with Boston’s American League East rival.
This deal marks the largest free-agent contract in Rays history. They had not previously offered a free agent more than $35 million in previous years.
The Red Sox are attempting to re-sign free-agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who is considered one of the most attractive and valuable players available in the offseason. While the Red Sox need starting pitching, if they can’t sign Bogaerts, Red Sox fans will not hide their disapproval.
Zach Eflin is likely to join a Rays rotation that includes established starters in Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen.
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