Tyler Clippard

Rays considering reliever Tyler Clippard

Free agent reliever Tyler Clippard is drawing interest from the Tampa Bay Rays, among other clubs, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

What It Means:

Tampa Bay's has two things working in their favor. Clippard is a Florida native, and there is no personal income tax in Florida. The Arizona Diamondbacks are also reported to be interested in the services of the veteran reliever.

Despite posting a 2.92 ERA across 71 innings last season with the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets, Clippard had the worst xFIP among qualified relievers at 5.30. This is concerning, but he's had a high difference between ERA and xFIP for much of his career. His career ERA is 2.88 and his career xFIP is 4.08.