Tampa Bay Rays settle with four players; Taylor Walls will go to arbitration

The Rays and Taylor Walls were unable to come to an agreement by the 1pm Thursday deadline

The 2025 arbitration deadline has come and gone and the Tampa Bay Rays have settled with four of their five arbitration eligible players. Taylor Walls and the Rays will head into an arbitration hearing in a few weeks.

The Rays entered the offseason with 12 arbitration eligible players, but through a series of trade, non-tenders, a re-worked contract, and an extension, they were only left five players remaining. Prior to the deadline, Erik Neander spoke about to the Tampa Bay Times about being hopeful for reaching deals with all five players.

“We appreciate our players, we’re going to do everything we can to find that common ground and operate within the spirit of the system, and hopefully we’re able to do that in a way that we reach agreements.

Shane Baz

• MLB Trade Rumors projection = $1.9M
• Actual 2025 salary = $1.45M

Baz, 25, made his return to the Rays active roster this past season. The former top prospect underwent Tommy John surgery at the tailend of the 2022 season, causing him to miss out on the entire 2023 campaign. During the 2024 season, Baz made 14 starts for the Rays, compiling a 3.06 ERA | 4.07 FIP with a 21.6 K% & 8.5 BB% over 79 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

Ben Rortvedt

• MLB Trade Rumors projection = $1.1M
• Actual 2025 salary = $1.125M

Rortvedt, 27, was acquired by the Rays from the New York Yankees at the conclusion of spring training. Originally thought to be a back up to Rene Pinto, Rortvedt quickly took over as the Rays primary catcher. After opening the year at a torrid pace, his production slipped over the final few months. Overall, Rortvedt hit .228/.317/.303 with 3 HR, registering a 87 wRC+ and accumulating 1.4 fWAR over 112 games.

Garrett Cleavinger

• MLB Trade Rumors projection = $1.4M
• Actual 2025 salary = $1.2M

Cleavinger, 30, took over as one of the more dependable high leverage bullpen arms for the Rays in 2024. After compiling a total of 53 ²⁄₃ IP from 2000 to 2023 in the Majors, Cleavinger provided the Rays with a total of 60 IP in 2024, compiling a 3.75 ERA | 4.00 FIP with a 26.7 K% & 11.7 BB% over 68 appearances.

Zack Littell

• MLB Trade Rumors projection = $4.8M
• Actual 2025 salary = $5.72M

Littell, 29, showcased that his success as a starting pitcher in 2023 was no fluke as he proved to be a dependable workhorse for the Rays, leading the team in innings pitched and fWAR, despite a two week stint on the Injured List in August. Overall during the season, Littell compiled a 3.63 ERA | 3.88 FIP with a 21.5 K% & 4.7 BB% over 156 ¹⁄₃ IP, accumulating 2.3 fWAR.

Taylor Walls

• MLB Trade Rumors projection = $1.3M
• Actual 2025 salary = unable to reach an agreement

Walls, 28, struggled offensively during the 2024 season for the Rays, but the team believes that his defense more than makes up for his lack of production. Although defensive metrics disagree on just how valuable Walls is with the glove. It’s possible that Walls was still dealing with the effects of hip surgery, which caused him to miss the first two months of this past season. Regardless, the Rays believe in Walls’ ability enough that he seems destined to be the team’s starting shortstop for 2025. This past year, Walls hit .183/.282/.248 with 1 HR, registering 60 wRC+ and accumulating -0.2 fWAR over 84 games.