TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have extended two more key players after extending lefty Jeffrey Springs last week. Yandy Diaz, who looked to be headed toward an arbitration hearing when he couldn’t reach an agreement with the Rays before the deadline, got a three-year/$24M extension with an option for a fourth year.
The Rays also extended righty reliever Pete Fairbanks for three years/$12M with a $7M option for year four or a $1M buyout.
Diaz played in a career-high 137 games in 2022 while hitting .296/.401/.423 with nine home runs, 33 doubles, and 57 RBI in 473 at-bats. In his career, Diaz has hit .278/..372/.411 with 39 home runs. He played for Cleveland in 2017 and 2018 before being a part of a three-team between Cleveland, Tampa, and Seattle.
Fairbanks, who was traded to Tampa in 2019 for Nick Solack, missed most of the 2022 season due to an injury to his lat muscle but when he returned to the mound, he allowed only three earned runs on 13 hits while walking three and striking out 28 in 24 innings of work—22 out of the 24 were scoreless innings.
Hosts Ulises Sambrano and Kevin Weiss of the Locked On Rays podcast discussed both moves on the latest episode of their show. Sambrano said about the Fairbanks extension, “Just like I said with the Springs extension a couple of days ago, tremendous move here.” When Weiss and Sambrano did their 2022 player reviews, the only negative Fairbanks got was his health.
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Weiss said about the possible Diaz extension (which wasn’t finalized at the time of the recording of their episode), “Diaz at 31 years old is coming off legitimately a career year with the Rays.”
Sambrano added that Diaz was the most productive hitter for the Rays last season and made it a point to mention that Diaz, with this extension, will be with the Rays for a total of seven years which is rare for that ballclub because of how they operate. He’s a fan favorite and ownership was smart to lock him up.
And speaking of the Rays and how they operate, even with the Springs, Fairbanks, and Diaz extensions, their projected payroll for 2023 will be lower than the franchise-high $83.9M it was in 2022. This is according to Fangraphs.
But, the Rays still have a few players who were with them in 2022 who remain unsigned— Jason Adam, Colin Poche, Harold Ramírez, and Ryan Thompson—so don’t be surprised if that payroll increases before Spring Training starts.
The Rays went 86-76 last season, finishing third in the American League East Division behind the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, but made the playoffs as the third Wild Card team. They were swept in the Wild Card round by the Cleveland Guardians.
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