January 18, 2013 was the deadline to exchange filing numbers with their arbitration eligible players. The Rays had four players (Matt Joyce, Ryan Roberts, Sam Fuld, and Jeff Niemann) that were arbitration eligible. Now that the deadline has come to pass, we’re pleased as peach to announce that the Rays have avoided arbitration with the aforementioned players. The details are below.
- Jeff Niemann: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the Rays have avoided arbitration with the tall RHP, signing Niemann to a one-year, $3MM contract.
- Sam Fuld: Marc Topkin of the Times has reported that the Rays have avoided arbitration with Sam Fuld, agreeing to a one-year, $725K deal.
- Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts: MLB Trade Rumors has reported that the Rays avoided arbitration with Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts. Joyce will earn $2.45MM and Roberts will earn $2.95MM plus incentives.