TAMPA - The Tampa Bay Rays locked up their ace Saturday, exercising the $20 million club option on right-hander Drew Rasmussen for the 2027 season, three days after he started World Series Game 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rasmussen, 31, posted a 2.67 ERA with 174 strikeouts over 172 innings and 30 starts during the regular season, earning his second All-Star selection and leading the American League with a 0.91 WHIP. He allowed just three runs across his first three postseason starts covering 21 innings as Tampa Bay captured the third pennant in franchise history.
“This organization, man, it’s the best,” Rasmussen said after Game 5, in which he allowed one run over four innings while pitching on short rest.
Rays manager Kevin Cash made no effort to hide his assessment of the right-hander. “That guy is a stud,” Cash said following the Game 5 start.
Rasmussen’s 2.74 ERA since the start of 2022 ranks fourth among pitchers with at least 500 innings during that span, trailing only Tarik Skubal (2.64), Blake Snell (2.69) and Chris Sale (2.71). By Statcast’s run value metric, Rasmussen finished third-most valuable pitcher in baseball this season at plus-41, behind Jacob Misiorowski (plus-52) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (plus-44).
The durability of that production is notable given Rasmussen’s injury history. He has undergone three major right elbow surgeries - two Tommy John procedures before the start of his professional career and an internal brace procedure that held him to just 73 1/3 innings from 2023-24. His return to full health and front-line production over the past two seasons made the option decision straightforward for Tampa Bay’s front office.
Rasmussen is now under contract through the 2027 season as the Rays head into an offseason following their World Series appearance.