The Tampa Bay Rays have exercised their $20 million club option on right-hander Drew Rasmussen for 2027, rather than pay a $500,000 buyout, Reuters and ESPN reported on 1 November. The option was exercised on Saturday, days after Tampa Bay lost the World Series to Milwaukee. It is the first time Tampa Bay has paid one player $20 million for a single season, according to multiple reports cited by Reuters.

Rasmussen, 31, went 16-5 with a 2.67 earned run average in 30 regular-season starts, with 174 strikeouts across 172 innings, and led the American League with a 0.913 WHIP. The option rose from an $8 million starting point to $20 million because he stayed healthy and made at least 28 starts, under the two-year, $8.5 million deal he signed in January 2025. He can become a free agent after the 2027 season.

A Series against his old club

In the postseason Rasmussen went 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 28 and two-thirds innings over five starts, and took the loss in World Series Game 5 after four innings on three days' rest as Milwaukee won 4-1. There is a neat symmetry to the decision: Rasmussen was traded from Milwaukee to Tampa Bay in May 2021, so the option call follows a Series defeat to his former club.

Elsewhere on the roster

The Rays also declined mutual options on Nick Martinez ($20 million) and Cedric Mullins on Friday, and Freddy Peralta was granted free agency. Keeping Rasmussen, the staff ace of a pennant-winning side, was the one big-ticket retention of the weekend.