Breakout Tampa Bay Rays Pitcher Ryan Pepiot Cashes in on Pre-Arbitration Bonus

Ryan Pepiot, who came over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in last winter's Tyler Glasnow trade, was the only Tampa Bay Rays player to claim a piece of MLB's $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool.

Aug 16, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot (44) throws a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

A year after joining the Tampa Bay Rays, Ryan Pepiot has earned himself an extra payday.

The 27-year-old right-hander was among the 101 players who were awarded 2024 pre-arbitration bonuses, according to a list published by the Associated Press on Friday. This marks the third year that the league has gone through the process, splitting $50 million between the most accomplished players who have not yet reached salary arbitration.

Players with between zero and three years of MLB service time are eligible to cash in on the annual bonus pool, excluding international free agents. Performance in end-of-year awards voting gives players extra bumps, while the rest is calculated by a joint WAR formula.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. led the way with a $3.08 million bonus, followed by Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes' $2.15 million and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson's $2.01 million.

Pepiot ranked 98th out of the 101 recipients with a $236K bonus, coming in just above Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick.

The Rays acquired Pepiot when they traded starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Manuel Margot and $4 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023. Outfielder Johnny DeLuca also came back to Tampa Bay as part of the deal.

After making 10 starts and seven relief appearances for the Dodgers between 2022 and 2023, Pepiot stepped right into the Rays' rotation in 2024. He proceeded to go 8-8 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.154 WHIP, 142 strikeouts and a 2.1 WAR in 130.0 innings of work.

Glasnow, meanwhile, posted a 1.9 WAR across 134.0 innings in Los Angeles.

Tampa Bay went 13-13 in Pepiot's 26 starts, slightly outpacing their 80-82 record on the whole in 2024. While the Rays' five-year playoff streak came to an end, they at least found a proven starter in Pepiot, who is under team control for four more seasons.

No other Rays players received a pre-arbitration bonus this year. In 2023, Wander Franco, Isaac Paredes, Josh Lowe, Jose Siri, Luke Raley and Shane McClanahan all earned one.

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