Rays' Ryan Pepiot: Avoids arbitration with Rays

Pepiot agreed to a one-year, $3.025 million contract with the Rays on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pepiot made a career-high 31 starts for the Rays in 2025 but finished the season with a career-worst 3.86 ERA over 167.2 innings, largely due to his allowing 26 homers. The 28-year-old righty will receive a $2.25 million raise from Tampa Bay during his first year of arbitration eligibility and projects to be one of the top starters in the Rays' rotation in 2026.