Drew Rasmussen's Contract Option Exercised By Rays After 2026 World Series Run

The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team exercised star pitcher Drew Rasmussen's contract option for the 2027 season on Saturday, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

The contract option is worth $20 million (via Spotrac).

Rasmussen played a pivotal role in Tampa Bay's successful 2026 campaign that ended with a World Series appearance.

He started 30 games during the regular season, posting a 16-5 record to go along with a 2.67 ERA and 0.913 WHIP. Rasmussen amassed 174 strikeouts compared to 32 walks in 172 innings of work.

The right-hander also limited opposing hitters to a .199 batting average and .543 OPS, earning his second consecutive All-Star nod for his efforts.

Rasmussen remained impactful during the playoffs, compiling a 2.20 ERA while averaging 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings across five starts.

Although the 31-year-old allowed eight hits and four earned runs across 7.2 innings pitched in two appearances during the Rays' five-game defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series, his overall season was still impressive.

Tampa Bay could explore trades involving Rasmussen in order to avoid potentially losing him as a free agent after the 2027 season, but it isn't difficult to imagine the team keeping him in order to compete for a second straight American League pennant.