Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Right-handed starting pitcher Zach Eflin has agreed to a three-year, $40-million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays pending a physical, first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. He was one of the several lower-rotation level starters available on the open market.
The $40-million deal over three years is the largest in Rays’ history. This roughly $13.33 million per season contract is slightly above what MLB Trade Rumors and Fangraphs projected him at previously. MLB Trade Rumors projected a two-year $22-million deal and Fangraphs a three year, $30-million deal.
The 28-year-old pitcher, who was originally selected by the San Diego Padres in first-round of the 2012 MLB Draft, has pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies over the last seven seasons. Eflin had a underwhelming run in Philadelphia, only making at least 20 starts in two of the six 162-game seasons. His best season came in 2019, finishing with a record of 10-13 and a 4.13 ERA in 163 1/3 innings.
The 2022 season was up and down for the pitcher, as injuries and a lack of consistency really hurt him for most of the year. When Eflin went on the injured list with a knee injury in June of 2022, very few would have expected him to return as a high-leverage reliever for the Phillies later that year. The pitcher made his eventual return on September 14, with each of his last seven appearances in the regular season coming from the bullpen.
The expectation was David Robertson or Seranthony Dominguez would receive the save opportunities in the postseason. That was not the case, as manager Rob Thomson leaned on Eflin to pitch in the ninth inning. Eflin would only wind up getting one save in the playoffs (which came in the series-clinching game against the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card round), but all 10 2/3 of his innings pitched came out of the bullpen.
His role with the Tampa Bay Rays has yet to be determined, although it does seem likely that the organization would want Eflin to add length to their starting rotation. Eflin will join a group that includes Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen, among others. The Rays will be set up to have another solid season the pitching department with the depth they now have. Not to mention, Eflin’s underlying metrics have almost always painted him as a better pitcher than his traditional numbers have shown.
