{"id":627559,"date":"2026-04-24T09:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/627559\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:11:29","slug":"2026-27-club-options-al-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/627559\/","title":{"rendered":"2026-27 Club Options: AL East"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple weeks ago, MLBTR\u2019s Darragh McDonald highlighted<\/a> the players who could choose to return to the free agent market via opt-out clauses. We\u2019ll now take a division by division look at those whose contracts contain club, mutual or vesting options. That kicks off tonight with the AL East.<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s early in the season, a lot of these provisions are fairly easy to predict. The mutual options are almost certain to be declined by either the player or team (usually the latter). They\u2019re accounting measures, essentially an unofficial deferral within the term of the contract itself. The player agrees to push back a percentage of the guaranteed money to the end of the deal in the form of an option buyout \u2014 which is paid after the end of the World Series rather than evenly distributed during the regular season as salary.<\/p>\n

Baltimore Orioles<\/p>\n

RHP\u00a0Zach Eflin<\/a>: $25MM mutual option ($2MM buyout)<\/p>\n

Eflin\u2019s return to the Orioles was dashed by yet another injury: an elbow ligament that required Tommy John surgery. The O\u2019s probably weren\u2019t signing up for a $25MM salary even if he\u2019d stayed healthy this year, but this is as obvious a buyout as these decisions get.<\/p>\n

Enns pitched well for the O\u2019s down the stretch after a deadline trade from Detroit. The 34-year-old southpaw worked to a 3.14 ERA while striking out 28% of batters faced across 28 2\/3 innings. Although he\u2019s nowhere close to six years of MLB service time, his contract contained a 2026 club option that presumably had a clause ensuring he\u2019d become a free agent if the team declined. That\u2019s fairly common for players like Enns who had spent the preceding couple seasons pitching in Asia.<\/p>\n

The O\u2019s restructured Enns\u2019 contract to pay him a $2.5MM salary and guarantee a $125K buyout on a $3.5MM team option for the \u201927 season. He has walked five batters over 4 1\/3 innings to begin this season. Enns landed on the injured list a couple weeks ago with a foot infection. He began a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Saturday. This one is too early to judge.<\/p>\n

Mountcastle agreed to tack on a $7.5MM option to avoid going to an arbitration hearing last offseason. Speculatively, that\u2019s probably due to the CBA provision which doesn\u2019t fully guarantee salaries determined at an arbitration hearing until Opening Day. Had Mountcastle not settled, the O\u2019s might\u2019ve released him for termination pay during Spring Training after making a splash on Pete Alonso<\/a> earlier in the winter.<\/p>\n

Although the O\u2019s were surely happy to get the extra year of club control, it probably won\u2019t be of much benefit. Mountcastle broke a bone in his left foot last week and will miss at least two months. It\u2019s his second straight year with a significant injury. He lost a couple months to a hamstring strain in 2025. Mountcastle was already an odd roster fit who\u2019d make more sense as a trade chip. Maybe he\u2019ll return in the second half and hit well enough that the O\u2019s feel the option price is too good to pass up, but it\u2019s likelier this is getting declined.<\/p>\n

Boston Red Sox<\/p>\n

LHP\u00a0Aroldis Chapman<\/a>: $13MM mutual option ($300K buyout); vests at $13MM at 40 innings pitched<\/p>\n

Chapman\u2019s option vests if he reaches 40 innings pitched this season and passes an end of year physical. He has surpassed 40 frames in three straight seasons. He\u2019s at 7 2\/3 innings thus far. It\u2019d take at least one injured list stint \u2014 probably an absence of 6-8 weeks \u2014 for him to fall short of 40 innings.<\/p>\n

In any case, the Sox would be happy to have him back at that price if he\u2019s healthy. Chapman was probably the best reliever in MLB last season, firing 61 1\/3 innings of 1.17 ERA ball with a 37% strikeout rate. The punchouts are down early this year in an exceedingly tiny sample, yet he has only allowed one run and is 4-4 in save opportunities. He remains at the top of his game at age 38.<\/p>\n

RHP\u00a0Sonny Gray<\/a>: $30MM mutual option ($10MM buyout)<\/p>\n

Gray restructured his contract as a condition of the offseason trade that sent him from St. Louis to Boston. The deal initially came with a $35MM salary for this year and a $5MM option buyout. Gray agreed to move $4MM of salary back to the buyout while picking up an extra $1MM as a condition for waiving his no-trade clause. He\u2019ll be a free agent.<\/p>\n

Whitlock\u2019s contract comes with an $8.25MM team option that includes $4MM in unspecified escalators. There\u2019s also a $10.5MM club option for the \u201928 season. Whitlock has been one of the best setup arms in MLB throughout his career. He rebounded from an injury-plagued \u201924 season to fire 72 frames of 2.25 ERA ball with a 31% strikeout rate last year.<\/p>\n

The righty\u2019s command has been a little wobbly this year and his sinker velocity is down a couple ticks. Still, he\u2019s only allowed two earned runs while striking out 11 through his first nine innings. No other Boston reliever is getting higher-leverage assignments on average. This is one of the likelier options to be exercised.<\/p>\n

New York Yankees<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Rays<\/p>\n

1B\u00a0Yandy D\u00edaz<\/a>: $10MM club option; converts to $13MM option which automatically vests at 500 plate appearances<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay preemptively locked in D\u00edaz\u2019s $12MM club option for the 2026 season during Spring Training \u201925. In exchange, the first baseman gave the team a $10MM option for \u201927 that would vest at $13MM as long as he stayed healthy enough to reach 500 plate appearances. D\u00edaz is a little over 20% of the way there. Even if he suffers an injury that takes the vesting provision off the table, he\u2019s been such a good hitter that Tampa Bay would probably be happy to exercise the $10MM option.<\/p>\n

The mutual option in the Martinez contract was purely one of the aforementioned accounting mechanisms. The Rays aren\u2019t paying him a $20MM salary even if he pitches to their expectations. He\u2019ll be bought out.<\/p>\n

The same is very likely true for Mullins. A $10MM option price is rich for Tampa Bay unless the former All-Star outfielder has a resurgent season \u2014 in which case, he\u2019d decline his end and look for a multi-year deal. The early returns aren\u2019t encouraging, as Mullins is hitting .156 with two homers through his first 21 games. Over the past calendar year, he\u2019s a .194\/.257\/.336 hitter.<\/p>\n

RHP\u00a0Drew Rasmussen<\/a>: $8MM club option ($500K buyout); option could escalate up to $20MM depending upon Rasmussen\u2019s health and innings total<\/p>\n

Before the 2025 season, the Rays signed Rasmussen to a two-year deal that bought out his final arbitration years. It included a complex club option for 2027 that was heavily dependent on his health. The option comes with an $8MM base value but includes up to $12MM in escalators based on starts and time spent on the injured list.<\/p>\n

Rasmussen had only once topped 80 MLB innings at the time of his extension. He has undergone multiple elbow procedures and broke into the league as a reliever because of durability concerns. Rasmussen has stayed healthy over the past year-plus. He pitched a career-high 150 innings en route to a top 10 Cy Young placement in 2025. He\u2019s out to a similarly excellent start to the \u201926 campaign, allowing just four earned runs through his first 19 2\/3 innings.<\/p>\n

The option value will begin to climb before long. It\u2019ll jump to $8.5MM once he reaches eight starts and includes additional escalators for every fourth start up through 28 appearances. If he makes 28+ starts, it\u2019d jump to a minimum of $14MM. That\u2019s just the beginning, as the number climbs if he avoids a long-term injured list stint. It\u2019d get up to $20MM if he goes the entire season without an arm injury.<\/p>\n

At $8MM, Rasmussen is an unmitigated bargain even for a low-payroll Rays club. The escalators will probably climb quickly enough that he\u2019ll be a trade candidate. That could happen midseason if the team isn\u2019t in the playoff hunt or early next offseason if they hold him at the deadline. If Rasmussen repeats last year\u2019s production, he\u2019s not going to be in any danger of being bought out \u2014 as closer Pete Fairbanks<\/a> was when escalators pushed his option value from $7MM to $11MM.<\/p>\n

Note: The Rays hold a $3.1MM club option on INF Taylor Walls<\/a>. He\u2019d remain eligible for arbitration if the team declines.<\/p>\n

Toronto Blue Jays<\/p>\n

CF\u00a0Myles Straw<\/a>: $8MM club option ($1.75MM buyout); Guardians paying Toronto $1.75MM at season\u2019s end as part of 2025 trade<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays acquired Straw in a salary dump trade with the Guardians over the 2024-25 offseason. Toronto agreed to cover $11MM of the remaining two years and $14.75MM on Straw\u2019s underwater contract. (He\u2019d gone unclaimed on waivers that same offseason and was no longer on Cleveland\u2019s 40-man roster.) In exchange, the Guards sent the Jays international bonus pool space. Toronto could then increase their offer to Roki Sasaki<\/a> by an extra $2MM in a late, ultimately unsuccessful effort to sway the star NPB pitcher away from signing with the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

Sasaki\u2019s decision to join L.A. made this initially look like a complete bust for Toronto. To his credit, Straw has salvaged the move. He made the team in 2025 and did a nice job in a fourth outfield role, hitting .262\/.313\/.367 while playing his typically excellent outfield defense. He\u2019s out to a good start this season as well and provides a high-floor depth option if Daulton Varsho<\/a> misses any time.<\/p>\n

Will that be enough to convince the Jays to keep Straw around? They certainly didn\u2019t anticipate exercising an $8MM option at the time of the trade. That\u2019s made clear enough by the teams\u2019 agreement for the Guardians to send Toronto a $1.75MM payment \u2014 which matches the buyout value \u2014 at the end of the \u201926 season. Cleveland is sending the money either way, though, so it\u2019d amount to a $6.25MM call if the Jays want to bring Straw back.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a little rich for a fourth outfielder, which is what Straw has been for the last few seasons. Varsho is an impending free agent and the Jays don\u2019t have anyone waiting in the wings from the farm system. Straw\u2019s play and the possibility of Varsho walking has made this a tougher call than even the Jays\u2019 front office would have anticipated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple weeks ago, MLBTR\u2019s Darragh McDonald highlighted the players who could choose to return to the free…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[16826,64,63,15144,40892,106440,118015,591,140798,178750,304156,24614,85,269746,25105],"class_list":["post-627559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-aroldis-chapman","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cedric-mullins","tag-dietrich-enns","tag-drew-rasmussen","tag-garrett-whitlock","tag-mlb","tag-myles-straw","tag-nick-martinez","tag-ryan-mountcastle","tag-sonny-gray","tag-sports","tag-yandy-diaz","tag-zach-eflin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}