The Rays have declined their 2011 options on utilityman Willy Aybar and reliever Dan Wheeler, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Aybar's option was worth $2.2MM, and he will instead receive a $275K buyout from the Rays. As Topkin points out, Aybar is still under team control and has two more years of arbitration as a Super Two player. In three seasons in Tampa Bay, Aybar has a .715 OPS in 1007 plate appearances. He's filled in at first, second and third, though the vast majority of his plate appearances last year were as a DH or pinch-hitter.
Wheeler will receive a $1MM buyout of his $4MM 2011 option. The right-hander has pitched very well over the last three seasons in Tampa Bay (203 appearances, 3.24 ERA, 3.06 K/BB ratio, 7.5 K/9) but a set-up man earning $4MM is a luxury for a team that's planning to cut payroll. Wheeler is also a Type A free agent and thus if he turns down arbitration from the Rays and signs elsewhere, Tampa Bay will receive two high draft picks.
