As they entered the offseason, the Tampa Bay Rays had 16 arbitration-eligible players on their roster. Now in the three weeks since the World Series concluded and moves could officially be made, the Rays have already trimmed that number down to 11.
Raimel Tapia was outrighted off the roster and elected to become a free agent, while Cole Sulser accepted his assignment to Triple-A Durham. Jalen Beeks, Josh Fleming, and Christian Bethancourt were all claimed off of waivers.
The Rays did make a claim on an arbitration-eligible left-handed pitcher, Tyler Alexander, but according to Marc Topkin, the team has already agreed to a one year $1.