The 2026-27 Club Options: AL East
The 2026 baseball season is in full swing, and it's time to take a look at the club options for the AL East teams. With the season still early, many of these options are predictable, but there are some interesting developments to consider.
Baltimore Orioles
Zach Eflin: The Orioles' return to the team was cut short by an elbow ligament injury requiring Tommy John surgery. The team likely wouldn't have signed up for a $25MM salary even if he'd stayed healthy, making the mutual option buyout a no-brainer.
Dietrich Enns: Enns pitched well for the O's after a trade from Detroit, and his contract included a 2026 club option. The Orioles restructured his contract, paying him $2.5MM and guaranteeing a $125K buyout on a $3.5MM team option for the '27 season. With a foot infection and a rehab assignment in Triple-A, it's too early to judge his performance.
Ryan Mountcastle: Mountcastle's $7.5MM club option was added to avoid an arbitration hearing. The Orioles might have released him for termination pay during Spring Training if he hadn't settled. However, a broken bone in his left foot will keep him out for at least two months, making the option's future uncertain.
Boston Red Sox
Arolds Chapman: Chapman's option vests if he reaches 40 innings pitched this season and passes an end-of-year physical. At 7 2/3 innings, he's on track. The Sox would be happy to have him back at $13MM if he's healthy, as he was the best reliever in MLB last season.
Sonny Gray: Gray's contract restructuring was part of a trade from St. Louis to Boston. He agreed to move $4MM of salary back to the buyout while picking up an extra $1MM, making him a free agent.
Garrett Whitlock: Whitlock's contract includes an $8.25MM team option with $4MM in unspecified escalators. With a 2.25 ERA and 31% strikeout rate last year, he's a likely option to be exercised, despite some wobbly command this season.
New York Yankees
- None
Tampa Bay Rays
Yandy Díaz: Tampa Bay locked in Díaz's $12MM club option for the 2026 season, with a $10MM option for '27 vesting at $13MM if he reaches 500 plate appearances. Even if an injury takes the vesting provision off the table, the Rays would likely exercise the $10MM option.
Nick Martinez: The mutual option in Martinez's contract was an accounting mechanism, and the Rays won't pay him a $20MM salary. He'll be bought out.
Cedric Mullins: Mullins' $10MM option price is rich unless he has a resurgent season. Early returns are not encouraging, as he's hitting .156 with two homers through 21 games.
Drew Rasmussen: Rasmussen's contract includes a complex club option for 2027, heavily dependent on his health. With a career-high 150 innings and a top 10 Cy Young placement in 2025, he's an unmitigated bargain for the Rays.
Toronto Blue Jays
- Myles Straw: The Blue Jays acquired Straw in a trade with the Guardians, covering $11MM of his underwater contract. Straw has salvaged the move, hitting .262/.313/.367 and providing high-floor depth. The Jays' front office is now faced with a tough call on whether to keep Straw around, with a $6.25MM call if they want to bring him back.
