Rays Extend Jeffrey Springs with Four-Year, $31-Million Contract
The Tampa Bay Rays have locked up a key piece of their starting rotation ahead of the 2023 season.
Jeffrey Springs, a left-hander drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round in 2015, has signed a four-year contract extension with the Rays worth $31 million, first reported by The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin on Wednesday.
Once official, Springs’ contract extension will buy out two arbitration years and two free-agent ones.
Topkin also reported that Springs’ deal includes a $15 million option in 2027, with a $750,000 buyout. If exercised, along with his innings-based incentives, the total worth of his deal could reach $65.75 million, which would be the team’s second-largest active contract.
Springs will reportedly earn $4 million in 2023, $5.25 million in ‘24 and $10.5 million in ‘25 and ‘26.
The Rays and Springs exchanged figures earlier this month after failing to settle his arbitration case, with the team offering $2.7 million and Springs’ representatives requesting $3.55 million. That was the front office’s biggest gap amongst its MLB-high seven unsettled cases.
Even with the 30-year-old extended, Tampa Bay still has potential arbitration hearings with Harold Ramirez, Yandy Diaz, Colin Poche, Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Thompson and Jason Adam. Those meetings are expected to occur between Jan. 30-Feb. 17.
Both sides can continue negotiating until then, just as they did with Springs. But if that proves unsuccessful, the parties will state their case to a third-party arbitrator, who’ll ultimately decide each player’s 2023 salary.
“This is about two parties working within a well-defined system that exists,” Neander told the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month after failing to reach settlements with seven players. “I think this is much more about the uniqueness of several players’ career paths leading to a bit of a more challenging experience for both parties to find common ground.
“But I very much believe that everyone worked to find it — we just didn’t quite get there.”
Springs, who joined the Rays organization in 2021, had previously been a reliever prior to this past season, logging no more than 44.2 innings each year. But then he transitioned to a starter in May 2022, enjoying the top statistical performance of his career, complicating his arbitration case.
The left-hander posted career bests in innings pitched (135.1), ERA (2.46), xERA (3.27), FIP (3.04) and fWAR (3.0). He also remained an effective swing-and-miss hurler, with his whiff (29.5 percent) and chase rates (35.4 percent) ranking in the 76th and 95th percentiles, respectively.
As a starter, Springs features a four-seamer, changeup, slider and sinker, converting from his previous three-pitch mix as a reliever. His most effective weapon is his offspeed offering, producing a career-best -12 run value in 2022.
Tampa Bay added to its starting rotation earlier this winter, signing right-hander Zach Eflin to a three-year, $40-million contract in free agency. Eflin will join Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow, Drew Rasmussen and Springs as the club’s starting five.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
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