Veteran Relief Pitcher Garrett Cleavinger Avoids Arbitration With Tampa Bay Rays

Garrett Cleavinger, who has been a dependable option out of the Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen since arriving via trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022, is set to make $1.2 million in 2025.

Sep 19, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Garrett Cleavinger (60) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays and veteran relief pitcher Garrett Cleavinger have settled on a $1.2 million salary to avoid arbitration, FanSided's Robert Murray reported Thursday morning.

This was Cleavinger's first year of arbitration eligibility. MLB Trade Rumors initially projected that the 30-year-old reliever would earn $1.4 million in 2025, so he came in a bit below that figure.

The agreement came together a few hours before Thursday's deadline at 1 p.m. ET. If the two sides hadn't come to terms on a salary before then, they would have been placed on a track to face off in an arbitration hearing later this month or in early February.

Cleavinger came into his own in 2024, going 7-5 with a 3.75 ERA, 1.383 WHIP, 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings, six saves and a 0.8 WAR across 68 relief appearances. It was a continuation of his solid start to 2023, which had been cut short when he tore his ACL in May.

Since the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Cleavinger to the Rays at the 2022 deadline, he has gone 9-5 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.180 WHIP, 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.5 WAR in 96 games.

Cleavinger is unlikely to get as many high-leverage opportunities as Pete Fairbanks or Edwin Uceta, but he is at least entering 2025 with a seven-figure salary and a solid hold on a roster spot. Manuel Rodríguez and Cole Sulser are the Rays' other veteran bullpen options, while Mason Montgomery, Mike Vasil and Nate Lavender are the young guns who could round out the group.

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