Rays Pick Up $20 Million Option on Drew Rasmussen for 2027

The Tampa Bay Rays exercised the $20 million club option on right-hander Drew Rasmussen for 2027 on Saturday, October 31, the team announced. Tampa Bay chose the option instead of paying a $500,000 buyout. The two-time All-Star can become a free agent after the 2027 season, and his salary will be the highest annual pay for a single player in team history.

How the option reached $20 million

The option was first priced at $8 million. It rose to $20 million because Rasmussen stayed healthy through the 2026 season and made at least 28 starts. He earned $5.5 million in 2026 under a two-year, $8.5 million deal agreed in January 2025 to avoid arbitration. With the option picked up, the contract is worth $28 million over three seasons. The previous team record for annual pay was Evan Longoria, who signed a six-year, $100 million deal in 2012 with an annual salary of $16.67 million. Tampa Bay had never paid one player $20 million for a single season before this move.

The season behind the decision

Rasmussen, 31, went 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA in 30 starts in 2026. He threw a career-high 172 innings and helped Tampa Bay win the AL East title and the American League pennant. In the postseason he went 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts, with 31 strikeouts and five walks in 28 2/3 innings. Those numbers explain why the club paid the higher option price instead of taking the buyout and looking for a replacement.

October starts and a long road back

Rasmussen started Game 5 of the World Series on three days of rest and took the loss. He allowed one run on two hits in four innings, with four strikeouts and no walks, as Milwaukee won 4-1 to clinch its first championship. He also started Game 2 and took a no-decision. In the Division Series opener against the Yankees, he held New York hitless through two outs in the eighth inning and finished with one hit allowed in eight innings in a 1-0 win, striking out 10.

His career record is 46-22 with a 2.83 ERA, 602 strikeouts and 151 walks in 632 2/3 innings over 160 regular-season games, including 111 starts, with Milwaukee in 2020 and 2021 and Tampa Bay from 2021 to the present. He has had three major elbow operations: Tommy John surgery in 2016 and in 2017 and an internal brace procedure in 2023. Tampa Bay acquired him from Milwaukee in May 2021 in the trade centered on Willy Adames.

What comes next for Tampa Bay

MLB Trade Rumors listed Rasmussen at No. 2 on its list of the top 40 trade candidates this offseason and noted that Tampa Bay has never entered a season with a nine-figure payroll, with upward of $105 million in estimated 2027 cash commitments including Rasmussen. That listing is speculation about what other teams might want, not a report of a pending move. In other moves this weekend, Tampa Bay declined mutual options on Friday for pitcher Nick Martinez and outfielder Cedric Mullins. Yandy Diaz had his $13 million vesting option for 2027 formally completed on Saturday after he reached 500 plate appearances and finished the season healthy.