The 2026-27 Club Options: AL East
The 2026 season is still in its early stages, but the anticipation for player options and opt-out clauses is already building. This article takes a division-by-division look at the players who could choose to return to the free agent market via these clauses, focusing on the AL East.
Baltimore Orioles
Zach Eflin: The Orioles' return to the team was cut short by another injury, this time an elbow ligament that required 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 an obvious decision.
Dietrich Enns: Enns pitched well for the O's down the stretch after a deadline trade from Detroit. The 34-year-old southpaw's contract contained a 2026 club option, which was restructured to pay him a $2.5MM salary and guarantee a $125K buyout on a $3.5MM team option for the '27 season. Enns is currently on the injured list with a foot infection.
Ryan Mountcastle: Mountcastle agreed to tack on a $7.5MM option to avoid an arbitration hearing last offseason. The Orioles might've released him for termination pay during Spring Training if he hadn't settled. However, Mountcastle broke a bone in his left foot last week and will miss 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. He's already surpassed 40 innings in three straight seasons. Chapman was likely the best reliever in MLB last season, and his performance this year is impressive, despite a slight dip in strikeout rate.
Sonny Gray: Gray restructured his contract as a condition of the offseason trade to Boston. He 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. Gray will be a free agent.
Garrett Whitlock: Whitlock's contract includes an $8.25MM team option with unspecified escalators and a $10.5MM club option for the '28 season. He's been one of the best setup arms in MLB, and his performance this year is solid, despite a slight dip in command and sinker velocity.
New York Yankees
- None
Tampa Bay Rays
Yandy Díaz: Tampa Bay locked in Díaz's $12MM club option for the 2026 season during Spring Training '25. In exchange, Díaz gave the team a $10MM option for '27 that would vest at $13MM if he reached 500 plate appearances. Díaz is currently over 20% of the way there.
Nick Martinez: The mutual option in Martinez's contract was purely an accounting mechanism, and the Rays aren't paying him a $20MM salary. He'll be bought out.
Cedric Mullins: Mullins' $10MM option price is rich for Tampa Bay unless he has a resurgent season. Early returns are not encouraging, as Mullins is hitting .156 with two homers through 21 games.
Drew Rasmussen: Rasmussen's contract includes a complex club option for 2027 that is heavily dependent on his health. The option comes with an $8MM base value and up to $20MM in escalators based on starts and time spent on the injured list.
Toronto Blue Jays
- Myles Straw: The Blue Jays acquired Straw in a salary dump trade with the Guardians. They agreed to cover $11MM of the remaining two years and $14.75MM on Straw's underwater contract. Straw has salvaged the move, making the team in 2025 and hitting .262/.313/.367. The Jays' decision to keep Straw around is uncertain, given the team's agreement for the Guardians to send a $1.75MM payment at the end of the '26 season.
