Rays' Aaron Civale: Settles with Rays at $4.9 million

The Rays and Civale avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.9 million contract Thursday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

It's a substantial salary bump for Civale, who was arbitration-eligible for a second time. The right-hander held a 5.36 ERA over 45.1 innings after being acquired via trade by the Rays at last year's deadline, but a 58:11 K:BB provides reason for optimism. He'll be a key piece in the Rays' rotation in 2024.