Just when things started to calm down in Beaver Nation, Jim Callis of MLB.com broke the news that Drew Rasmussen would not be signing with Tampa Bay, who drafted Rasmussen with the 31st overall pick in the MLB draft.
Source: @RaysBaseball will not sign supp 1st-rder Drew Rasmussen. Oregon St RHP, up to 98 this spring after TJ in March 2016. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 5, 2017
There is no word yet as to the reason Rasmussen and the Rays were not able to come to an agreement, but some have speculated that it could be a concern regarding Rasmussen’s health. The Spokane native and author of OSU’s only perfect game, underwent Tommy-John surgery in March of 2016. Rasmussen was cleared to pitch this past April and worked his way back into the starting rotation by the end of the year. Rasmussen did not make another start following the regionals, in which he left his start early, but did see time out of the bullpen in two games in Omaha. Tampa was reportedly unwilling to offer at least 40% of the 2.1 million dollar value of the 31st pick, which would have been right around $850,000.
It appears Tampa was unwilling to offer Rasmussen 40% of his slot value, which would've been around $850,000. This is extremely odd
— Robert Lundeberg (@The_Real_Bob) July 5, 2017
So what does this mean going forward? While it appears Tampa Bay is off the board, Drew could opt to sign as a free agent with another MLB team, or he could return to Corvallis for his redshirt junior season. If Rasmussen is to return for another year in Corvallis, it would only add to an already impressive group of returners that will look to open the season as a top 5 team, and attempt to find their way back to Omaha.
Stay with Building The Dam as this situation continues to unfold.