

Per Mark Topkin's Twitter feed,

Rayssign RHP Wade Davis to long-term deal- could go 7 years, be worth $35.1M. First 4 are guaranteed, worth $12.6M

This is not a surprising move considering the Rays history of locking up their young players to long-term contracts. The team holds club options for '15/'16/'17. This deal buys out all of his arbitration years (2013-2015) as well as his first two years of free agency. The team is protected by the fact they can buy out the options (costs and details forthcoming from the team at a later time). Simply put, this is a great deal for both sides as it sets the young Davis up for life with guaranteed millions and allows the Rays to control costs moving forward much like they did with James Shields before him.

Andrew Friedman's comments, according to JB Long:

"We fully acknowledge that it's a risk...He wants to be here and we want him to be here. Important to get it done before the season and not let it be a distraction...we had a deadline for Opening Day."

Wade Davis adds:

"I was definitely surprised. It doesn't seem to happen a lot in baseball. It was a huge compliment...I perform better when I relax. I think it will push more in a good direction, more than anything else."

Per MLBTR that spoke with Davis' agent, the deal is breaks down as:

2011: $1.0M

2012: $1.5M

2013: $2.8M

2014: $4.8M

2015: $7.0M

2016: $8.0M

2017: $10.0M

The Rays have a $2.5M buyout for the option years; it is unclear at this time what the qualifiers are on the option years and if they all have to be picked up at once or whether they are handled on a year by year basis.

.. We'll have more to come soon.