The Tampa Bay Rays may be entering a different kind of offseason, and Drew Rasmussen appears to be part of that shift.
After the club exercised Rasmussen’s $20 million option for the 2027 season, speculation started to build that the All-Star right-hander could end up on the trade market. But President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander shut that down quickly, making it clear the Rays want Rasmussen in the middle of their plans next year.
As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times shared on X, Neander said the organization has “every intention” of having Rasmussen anchor their rotation for 2027.
That should come as welcome news for Rays fans, who are used to spending the winter wondering whether one of the team’s top players will be moved. Rasmussen is under team control for only one more season, which has made him a natural name to pop up in trade chatter in the past.
This time, though, the message from the front office sounds different. Tampa Bay has historically been willing to listen when a player reaches this stage, but Rasmussen now looks positioned to break that pattern and stay put.
If that holds, he would also make franchise history. The $20 million figure is modest by today’s standards around MLB, but the Rays have never had a player on their roster earn that much in a season. Rasmussen is on track to become the first.
It’s another sign that the new ownership group may be ready to spend differently than the franchise has in the past. For a team that has long been known for its thrift, committing that kind of money to one player says plenty about where things could be headed.
Rasmussen has earned that level of trust. He’s been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons and has established himself as a true ace with what he’s done in the regular season and the playoffs.
And while Rasmussen is set to be the first Rays player to reach that $20 million mark, he may not hold that distinction for long. Third baseman Junior Caminero is also trending toward major annual earnings of his own.
In Other News...
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Former Mets Arm Just Became A Painful What-If For This Rotation
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For a club that has made a habit of finding value where others missed it, the larger takeaway is hard to ignore. Peraltas stint in Tampa helped reshape the conversation around his future, and the price tag being attached to him now is a reminder of how quickly a change of scenery can alter a pitchers trajectory. [Read more 🡒]