ST. PETERSBURG — Drew Smyly became the first player to win an arbitration hearing against the Rays’ current ownership when an arbitrator Thursday awarded the pitcher $3.75 million.
The Rays submitted a 2016 salary offer of $3.2 million on the Jan. 16 deadline for both sides to exchange salary figures. With the sides $550,000 apart, the Rays ended negotiations and sent the matter to arbitration, as per team policy. The hearing was Wednesday.
The Rays had been 6-0 in arbitration hearings since Stuart Sternberg took over the team in October 2005.
Smyly, who received $2.65 million last year during his first year of arbitration, was limited to 12 starts because of two stints on the disabled list — the first for left shoulder tendinitis that kept him out of the rotation until April 24 and the second for left shoulder tightness that kept him on the shelf until Aug.