Rays Exercise Club Option On Drew Rasmussen

The Rays have exercised ace right-hander Drew Rasmussen’s club option for 2027, per a team announcement. Rasmussen is in line to earn $20MM next season.

This was a slam-dunk decision for the 2026 American League champions, who have seen Rasmussen blossom into one of the majors’ best starters over the past few years. Acquired from the Brewers in a May 2021 trade centering on shortstop Willy Adames, Rasmussen has logged a stellar 2.73 ERA in 133 appearances (111 starts) and 600 1/3 innings as a Ray. An internal brace procedure held him to 73 1/3 innings from 2023-24, but he has made 61 starts since then and continued to produce excellent results.

This past season, in which he earned his second straight All-Star nod, counts as the best of Rasmussen’s career. Across a personal-high 172 innings, the 31-year-old recorded a 2.67 ERA with above-average strikeout and walk rates of 26% and 4.8%, respectively. He ranked seventh in the majors in ERA and fWAR (5.0), while his walk rate was second among qualified starters. Teammate Nick Martinez finished first in that category.

Thanks in large part to Rasmussen, Martinez and the rest of their pitching staff, the Rays won 98 games and entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the AL. Rasmussen largely thrived in the playoffs, helping the Rays win their third pennant in franchise history. Over five outings and 28 2/3 frames in October, Rasmussen logged a 2.20 ERA with 31 strikeouts against five walks. The Rays knocked off the Yankees and Guardians in their first two playoff rounds, but they fell to Rasmussen’s former team, the Brewers, in a five-game World Series. He toed the rubber twice in the Fall Classic, including in a 4-1 loss in Game 5, and combined for 7 2/3 innings of four-run ball.

While many teams would be happy to have Rasmussen in the fold for $20MM, it is fair to wonder if he has put on a Rays uniform for the last time.  In their list of this offseason’s top 40 trade candidates, MLBTR’s Steve Adams, Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald placed Rasmussen at No. 2. As great as he is, the notoriously frugal Rays have never paid a player $20MM for one season. Rasmussen’s $20MM option, which came with the two-year, $8.5MM extension he signed in 2025, carried a base value of $8MM. However, that number climbed by $12MM because he hit health and innings escalators.

Including Rasmussen’s money, MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker (via contributor Ethan Hullihen) estimates the Rays have upward of $105MM in cash commitments for next season. They have never entered a season with a nine-figure payroll, which could jeopardize Rasmussen’s chances of  staying with the organization. Between his high salary (by the Rays’ standards) and the fact that he is down to one year of team control, the Rays could move Rasmussen for a haul this offseason. There would be no shortage of suitors. If Rasmussen were a free agent this year, he would be the second-most desirable starter available after Tarik Skubal.

Rasmussen could exit via trade, while Martinez (assuming a $20MM mutual option is declined) and Freddy Peralta could walk in free agency. If all three of them depart, the Rays would still have Shane McClanahan, Ryan Pepiot (who missed 2026 with a hip injury), Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour among their rotation options for 2027.