Nick Martinez is headed back to free agency after turning down his end of a $20MM mutual option with the Rays, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’ll take home a $4MM buyout instead.
That finish was pretty much baked in from the start. Mutual options almost never get exercised by both sides, and even if Martinez had opted in, Tampa Bay might have passed on its end anyway or picked it up only to try to move him. MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker has the Rays sitting at a projected $105.6MM cash payroll in 2027, and Martinez’s option would have added $16MM to that figure.
At 36, Martinez probably won’t command the same $20MM average annual value on the open market, but he should still do well enough to land a solid two-year deal with a larger overall guarantee. Tampa Bay signed him to a $13MM salary in February, and he rewarded them with the strongest season of his career as a regular big-league starter.
In 31 starts and 180 innings, Martinez posted a 3.10 ERA. He didn’t miss many bats, striking out only 15.1% of hitters, but he carved lineups up with elite command.
His 3.6% walk rate was the best among qualified starters, edging teammate Drew Rasmussen and Braves lefty Chris Sale, who were both at 4.8%. The ERA estimators weren’t as convinced - his FIP sat at 3.96 and his SIERA at 4.63 - while FanGraphs credited him with 2.9 wins above replacement, the kind of production that fits a mid-rotation arm.
Martinez is the first of four remaining club and mutual option calls on Tampa Bay’s list. Yandy Díaz already locked in his $13MM option by reaching 500 plate appearances, and he finished with 686 PA.
Next up is Taylor Walls, who has a $3.1MM club option. He hit .222/.309/.298 with a 74 wRC+ in 124 games, but his glove was as sharp as ever. Walls piled up +21 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop, and with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for $3.5MM in arbitration, the Rays are expected to exercise the option and save roughly $400K.
Tampa Bay also has a $10MM mutual option on Cedric Mullins, with a $500K buyout attached.
The biggest call belongs to Rasmussen. The Rays hold a $20MM club option on him, and the expectation is that they’ll pick it up.
Even so, they’ve never carried a player at a $20MM salary, so the likely path is to exercise the option and then shop him for major league-ready help. If Martinez and Freddy Peralta both leave, that would leave at least three rotation openings to fill.
In Other News...
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Tampa Bay has now been around the edge of a title long enough that every postseason trip seems to carry the same question: is this the year the breakthrough finally comes? Even as the article casts the Rays as the most likely MLB club to be next in line for a first title, their latest World Series miss serves as another reminder of how thin the margin is between being a perennial contender and still waiting for that first champagne celebration. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Rotation Just Took Another Hit After Nick Martinez Decision
Nick Martinezs time with the Rays is now over after he declined his mutual option for the 2027 season, a move that sends him back to free agency and leaves Tampa Bay with another rotation question to answer. The veteran right-hander had been one of the more reliable pieces in the staff, giving the Rays stability during a season that demanded plenty of it, and his exit adds to the sense that the pitching staff is again in flux.
Martinez was solid throughout 2026 and carried that form into the postseason, which only sharpened the sting for a club that has leaned on run prevention and depth to stay competitive. Hell leave with a significant guaranteed payday already in hand, but for Tampa Bay the more immediate concern is simpler: another proven arm is gone, and the Rays now have to sort through how to replace him. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Just Got Pulled Back Into Baseballs Biggest Payroll Fight
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The broader fight over a salary cap is never far from view when the Rays are part of the conversation, because their success is often held up as evidence on both sides of the argument. Some clubs keep pouring money into payroll, while others lean harder on front office infrastructure and the current collective bargaining agreement has shaped how teams choose to spend, making every example like this one part of a much larger argument still waiting to be settled. [Read more 🡒]