Eflin signed a three-year, $40 million contract with the Rays on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Eflin declined a $15 million mutual option with the Phillies for the 2023 season to head to free agency. He's now rewarded with a long-term deal in Tampa Bay and will presumably be a significant part of their rotation plans for the length of the contract. Eflin has been limited by injuries the last two seasons, combining to maintain a 4.12 ERA with a 164:31 K:BB across 181.1 innings.
Lopez has been suspended 80 games without pay for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
This will put him out of action until the middle of next season. Lopez tested positive for Stanozolol, specifically. The infielder put together a .211/.309/.328 line in 81 games across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season, totaling six homers and nine steals in 309 plate appearances.
Peters was acquired by the Rays from the Giants on Tuesday in exchange for Brett Wisely.
San Francisco acquired Peters from Milwaukee at the trade deadline in August, and he was only with the organization three months before being flipped to Tampa Bay. Peters had an .871 OPS at High-A but was unable to continue that success at the Double-A level, where he had a .220/.309/.311 slash line.
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Rays' Bligh Madris: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Madris was designated for assignment by the Rays on Tuesday.
Madris was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay in mid-September but never saw game action with the team. He played in 39 contests for the Pirates before he was waived and had a .177/.244/.265 slash line in 123 plate appearances.
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Rays' Javy Guerra: DFA'd by Tampa Bay
Rotowire
Guerra was designated for assignment by the Rays on Tuesday.
Guerra appeared in 18 games between the Padres and Rays last season and had a 5.00 ERA and 10:11 K:BB across 18 innings. He won't retain his spot on the 40-man roster with Tampa Bay clearing space for prospects ahead of the Rule 5 draft.
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Rays' Colby White: Protected from Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
White (elbow) was added to the Rays' 40-man roster Tuesday.
White underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022, but the Rays will still protect him from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster. The 24-year-old had a 1.44 ERA in 43 games across four minor-league levels in 2021, and he could be ready for game action during the middle of next season.
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Rays' Taj Bradley: Joining 40-man roster
Rotowire
Bradley was added to the Rays' 40-man roster Tuesday.
Bradley posted a 1.70 ERA over 74.1 innings with Double-A Montgomery to earn a promotion to Triple-A Durham, where he continued to pitch well with a 3.66 ERA. The 21-year-old is one of the Rays' top prospects and could make his major-league debut next year.
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Rays' Curtis Mead: Protected from Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
Mead (elbow) was added to the Rays' 40-man roster Tuesday.
Mead is one of Tampa Bay's most highly-regarded prospects, so it's no surprise he's been added to the 40-man roster in order to shield him from the Rule 5 draft. He split 2022 between the Double-A and Triple-A levels and had a .922 OPS with 13 home runs, 50 RBI and seven stolen bases in 76 games before he was shut down with an elbow injury.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Shielded from Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
Jones was added to Tampa Bay's 40-man roster Tuesday.
Jones was promoted to Double-A Montgomery late in 2021 and remained there for the entirety of last season. He had a .238/.319/.394 slash line with 37 stolen bases and a 35.9 percent strikeout rate in 79 games.
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Rays' Osleivis Basabe: Joining 40-man roster
Rotowire
Basabe was added to the Ray's 40-man roster Tuesday.
Basabe posted a .324/.385/.462 slash line between the High-A and Double-A levels last season, and Tampa Bay opted to move him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The 22-year-old could open 2023 at Double-A, but it shouldn't be long before he's up with the Triple-A club.
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Rays' Marcus Johnson: Traded to Tampa Bay
Rotowire
Johnson and Santiago Suarez were acquired by the Rays from the Marlins on Tuesday in exchange for JT Chargois and Xavier Edwards.
Johnson was a fourth-round draft pick by the Marlins in July, and he'll head to a new organization after only a few months. He made two appearances in rookie ball before he joined Single-A Jupiter, where he allowed seven earned runs with a 24:7 K:BB across 12.1 innings.
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Rays' Ryan Yarbrough: DFA'd by Tampa Bay
Rotowire
Yarbrough (oblique) was designated for assignment Tuesday by the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The left-hander finished the season on the injured list with an oblique strain, and it appears the Rays won't be tendering him a contract for 2023. Yarbrough was an effective rotation piece across his first three big-league seasons, but he struggled over the past two years and had a 4.50 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 61:22 K:BB in 80 frames during 2022.
Hartman was traded from the Pirates to the Rays on Thursday in exchange for Ji-Man Choi.
Hartman made his professional debut at the Single-A level in 2022 and had a 5.03 ERA across 19.2 innings. He could remain at that level to open 2023 with the Rays but could also move up to High-A.
