\nSteven Matz<\/a>, LHP: $7.5MM through 2027<\/p>\n
Option Decisions<\/p>\n
$20MM club option on RHP Drew Rasmussen<\/a> ($500K buyout) Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)<\/p>\n Non-tender candidates: Madrigal, Sulser, Cleavinger, Palacios, Uceta, Rodr\u00edguez, Scholtens<\/p>\n Free Agents<\/p>\n Though many teams start an offseason with personnel issues to address, that\u2019s rarely going to be the case for a club coming off a World Series appearance. President of baseball operations Erik Neander and manager Kevin Cash are considered among the best in the industry at their respective posts, and both will be back in 2027. It\u2019s possible some members of Cash\u2019s coaching staff will be poached by other organizations \u2014 the Twins already hired the Rays\u2019 Triple-A pitching coach \u2014 but by and large the leadership that brought Tampa Bay to the 2026 Fall Classic should be expected to remain in place.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay opens the offseason with a quartet of option decisions. The Rays will assuredly pick up their $20MM on fellow rotation member Drew Rasmussen. The mutual options for Nick Martinez and Cedric Mullins have already been bought out.<\/p>\n The $3.1MM club option on shortstop Taylor Walls is more of a borderline call. On the one hand, he\u2019s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a $3.6MM salary. If the Rays are planning to keep Walls, it makes the most sense to exercise that option. But for as strong as Walls\u2019 glovework is, he\u2019s one of the lightest bats in the entire sport. If Tampa Bay wants to move on, they could decline the option and non-tender him. Alternatively, Neander & Co. could gauge the trade market to see if there\u2019s interest in Walls at that $3.1MM price point. If so, they could pick the option up and look to move him down the road.<\/p>\n The bigger trade decisions the Rays face, however, all come in the rotation. It\u2019ll be a fine line to walk, with Martinez and Freddy Peralta both hitting free agency, but the bulk of Tampa Bay\u2019s remaining rotation is signed\/controlled for only one additional season. That\u2019s going to leave the club with some difficult decisions, particularly when it comes to Rasmussen\u2019s $20MM salary. It\u2019s a bargain relative to the market rate for a pitcher coming off a season that\u2019ll garner him Cy Young Award votes, but the Rays\u2019 history of low payrolls and trading stars on the cusp of free agency landed Rasmussen in the No. 2 spot on MLBTR\u2019s Top 40 Offseason Trade Candidate list<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n$20MM mutual option on RHP Nick Martinez<\/a> ($4MM buyout)
\n$10MM mutual option on OF Cedric Mullins<\/a> ($500K buyout)
\n$3.1MM club option on SS Taylor Walls<\/a> (no buyout; Walls remains arbitration-eligible if option is declined)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793410456_524_landing-logo.png\"\/){kind=logo}
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