Report: Rays had highest bid for Romo

It seems that Sergio Romo's decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't come without an intriguing offer from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Before signing with the Dodgers on a reported one-year, $3-million deal, the Rays presented Romo with a higher offer, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, citing major-league sources.

Romo, who spent his entire nine-year career with San Francisco, grew up in a Dodgers family and preferred to stay on the west coast, Rosenthal notes.

It was reported the 33-year-old reliever's decision would come down to the Dodgers and a mystery team, which presumably was the Rays, who seem interested in adding to their pen to provide more versatility to a group that includes Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, and Xavier Cedeno.

The Rays search for upgrades in the bullpen isn't entirely surprising, as last year's group performed below average in several areas. The bullpen combined for the third most home runs per nine inning (1.30), were second last in WAR (0.1), and ranked 21st in ERA (4.01).