{"id":145474,"date":"2022-12-02T01:26:08","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T01:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rays-to-sign-zach-eflin-to-three-year-deal\/"},"modified":"2022-12-02T01:26:08","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T01:26:08","slug":"rays-to-sign-zach-eflin-to-three-year-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rays-to-sign-zach-eflin-to-three-year-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays To Sign Zach Eflin To Three-Year Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Rays are dipping into the free agent pitching market, agreeing to terms with right-hander Zach Eflin<\/strong> on a three-year deal. It’s reportedly a $40MM guarantee for the O’Connell Sports Management client. Eflin will make $11MM in each of the next two seasons, followed by an $18MM salary in 2025. The deal is pending a physical.<\/p>\n
Eflin had spent his entire big league career with the Phillies. Originally drafted by the Padres, the Orlando native was dealt to the Dodgers and Phils during his time as a minor leaguer. He reached the majors by the middle of the 2016 campaign, bouncing on and off the MLB roster for the first couple seasons. Eflin struggled during his early big league looks, but he’d settled in as a capable mid-rotation arm by 2018.<\/p>\n
That season, he made 24 starts and worked to a 4.36 ERA across 128 innings. That kicked off a remarkably consistent stretch of results. In each of the five seasons between 2018-22, Eflin posted an ERA between 3.97 and 4.36. Aside from a spike in strikeouts during the abbreviated 2020 season, he achieved those 3rd\/4th starter results in a similar manner every year. He’s proven an excellent strike-thrower who misses bats at a slightly below-average level but keeps the ball on the ground at a solid clip.<\/p>\n
Between 2019-21, Eflin worked to a 4.12 ERA with a slightly below-average 21.4% strikeout rate but a stellar 5.7% walk percentage. He’d been on a similar path to begin this season, posting a 4.37 ERA with a 19.6% strikeout percentage and a 5.3% walk rate through his first 13 starts. At the end of June, he landed on the injured list with a right knee contusion. That cost him over two months. By the time he was ready for reinstatement in early September, the Phils had limited time to build him back to a starter’s workload before year’s end. They expedited his return to the majors by plugging him in short relief. Eflin made seven appearances out of the bullpen during the regular season, then tossed 10 2\/3 frames over 10 outings as a high-leverage arm during the Phils’ run to a National League pennant.<\/p>\n