The Rays and reliever Chaz Roe have avoided arbitration with an agreement worth $2,185,200, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. That’s in line with the $2.2MM salary MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected at the outset of the offseason.
The slider-heavy, right-handed Roe was a valuable member of the Rays’ bullpen over the previous two seasons. Most recently, Roe put up a 4.08 ERA/3.31 FIP with 11.47 strikeouts per nine and a 44.6 percent groundball rate across 51 innings in 2019. However, control was a problem for the 33-year-old Roe, who issued just under 5.5 walks per nine frames.
The upcoming season will be the penultimate arbitration-eligible year for Roe. He’ll remain a key part of a relief corps that stood out in 2019, when he, Emilio Pagan, Nick Anderson and Diego Castillo were among the playoff-bound Rays’ go-to options late in games.
Dude has a nasty slider. If he can get better command, cut the walks in half, he’d be an elite guy out of the pen. Good weapon for the gas though. Although, probably last year with them, getting a little too pricy for the rays.
Rays*
Roe vs. Rays avoided.
Love it
Underrated comment
He will finally be a free agent at 35…..
He’s done okay but the walks and k’s won’t change much. He throws a slider off the plate that many swing at for strike three or they don’t swing and walk.