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How did all of those contracts turn out for the Rays?

Of the 15 largest contracts given out by the team, almost half of the players ended up being traded before the deal ended. Here are the details.
The Rays signed shortstop Wander Franco to an 11-year, 182 million deal in 2021. It remains to be seen how long Franco will stay in Tampa Bay and how much of his salary the team will wind up paying.
The Rays signed shortstop Wander Franco to an 11-year, 182 million deal in 2021. It remains to be seen how long Franco will stay in Tampa Bay and how much of his salary the team will wind up paying. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
Published Nov. 18, 2022

The Rays do not often venture into the free-agent market, but they have been aggressive signing their own players to long-term deals. Here are the 15 largest multiyear deals in team history, including how long the player stayed in Tampa Bay during the contract and how much of the deal was paid by the Rays.

Related: If they had to do it over again, would the Rays make these same moves?

Player, Date, Original deal, Rays’ portion

Wander Franco, 11/21, 11-year $182M, TBD

Evan Longoria, 11/12, 6-year $100M, 1 year $27.5M *

Kevin Kiermaier, 3/17, 6-year $53.5M, Full contract **

Blake Snell, 3/19, 5-year $50M, 2 years $11M

Evan Longoria, 4/08, 9-year $44.5M, Full contract

Chris Archer, 4/14, 8-year $43.75M, 4+ years $13M

James Shields, 1/08, 7-year $40.5M, 5 years $16.5M

Wilson Alvarez, 12/97, 5-year $35M, Full contract

Greg Vaughn, 12/99, 4-year $34M, Full contract

Carl Crawford, 4/05, 6-year $31M, Full contract

Tyler Glasnow, 8/22, 2-year $30.35M, TBD

Charlie Morton, 12/18, 2-year $30M, Full contract **

Ben Zobrist, 4/10, 5-year $29.5M, 4 years $22M

Scott Kazmir, 5/08, 4-year $28.5M, 1 year $6M

Matt Moore, 12/11, 7-year $27.5M, 4+ years $9M

* Includes portion of contract paid by Rays while Longoria was in San Francisco.

** Does not include team option that was declined.

Cot’s baseball contracts, MLB Spotrac and other news sources were used for contract figures.

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