Rays retain ace Rasmussen after AL title

The Tampa Bay Rays exercised a $20 million club option on starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen on Saturday. This move secures the right-hander for the 2027 season and avoids a $500,000 buyout payment to the club.

Rasmussen signed an $8.5 million, two-year contract in January 2025 to avoid arbitration. He earned a $5.5 million salary in 2026. The 2027 option price rose from $8 million to $20 million because he stayed healthy and made at least 28 starts. This structure makes the contract worth $28 million over three seasons. The 31-year-old pitcher can become a free agent after the 2027 campaign.

Rasmussen helped the Rays win the American League East title this season. He posted a 16-5 record with a 2.67 earned average in 30 regular season starts. In the postseason, he went 2-1 with a 2.20 earned average over five starts. Tampa Bay won its third American League pennant during this run.

The pitcher threw a career-high 172 innings in the regular season. He added 28 and two-thirds innings in the playoffs. Rasmussen had a no-hitter in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees in the Division Series opener. He struck out 10 batters in that 1-0 win.

In the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Rasmussen took the loss in Game 5. He pitched four innings on three days of rest and left trailing 1-0. The Brewers won that game 4-1 to claim their first championship. In Game 2, he threw 89 pitches over three and two-thirds innings. The Brewers rallied for a 5-4 win to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Rasmussen has undergone three major elbow operations in his career. These include Tommy John surgeries in 2016 and 2017 and an internal brace procedure in 2023. He is 46-22 with a 2.83 earned average in 160 major league games. Those stats include 111 starts over seven seasons with Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.

On Friday, the Rays declined mutual options on starting pitcher Nick Martinez and outfielder Cedric Mullins. Martinez, 36, had a $20 million mutual option with a $4 million buyout. Mullins, 32, had a $7.5 million deal with a $10 million mutual option and a $500,000 buyout.