The Tampa Bay Rays are always looking in the bargain bin in free agency.
We rarely see them spend big on any player as they consistently have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.
Even with that, the Rays have been one of the best teams in baseball over the past six seasons.
Not including the shortened 2020 season, the Rays have won at least 86 games in each of the past six seasons.
They have done so with the aforementioned low payroll and no superstar players.
According to Joel Sherman, pitcher Jake Odorizzi is the most recent signing of the Rays.
He has agreed to a minor-league deal but with incentives if he makes the major-league roster.
Jake Odorizzi has a minor league deal with the Rays. He will be paid $1.5M in the majors with $500,000 bonuses for reaching innings at 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150.
We have seen the Rays make these smaller signings in the past and have them pay major dividends.
The Rays do a great job of getting the best out of each of their players.
They have been resurrecting players’ careers for many years.
Most recently, we saw what they were able to do with Zach Eflin last year.
He was an average pitcher for the first seven years of his career.
But, he took a massive leap forward in his first year with the Rays.
Eflin won 16 games last year and had a career-low 3.50 ERA.
The Rays must be hoping to do something similar with Odorizzi this year.
Playing in the AL East will not be an easy task.
That division is loaded and the Rays will have their work cut out for them.
But, if they can continue to get the best out of their players the Rays have a chance to compete in the AL.