ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have offered salary arbitration to seven of the team’s 11 free agents, including outfielder Carl Crawford and closer Rafael Soriano.
The AL East champions also offered arbitration to outfielder Brad Hawpe and relief pitchers Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, Randy Choate and Chad Qualls.
First baseman Carlos Pena and reliever Dan Wheeler were not offered arbitration on Tuesday. Pena was the highest-paid player on the team at $10.25 million last season, while Wheeler earned $3.5 million.
Benoit already has agreed to a deal with the Detroit Tigers so the move ensures Tampa Bay will receive draft pick compensation.
