One of the more shocking moves of the MLB offseason thus far has been the Tampa Bay Rays declining their $11M club option on longtime reliever Pete Fairbanks. He finished his stint with the Rays throwing 256 â…” innings with a 2.98 ERA, saving 90 games (third in franchise history) and posting 5.9 fWAR.
The free agent market for relievers is pretty loaded with Edwin DÃaz and Robert Suárez leading the charge, plus high-profile bounce-back candidates like Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley. Even so, Fairbanks should demand a lot of attention coming off a 2025 season where he set new career-highs in many counting stats.
The Texas Rangers drafted Fairbanks in the ninth round of the 2015 MLB Draft. During his rookie year of 2019, he was traded to the Rays in exchange for Nick Solak. That move was a clear win for Tampa Bay as Solak was barely above replacement level with the Rangers, slashing .252/.327/.372/.700 with 21 home runs, 93 RBI and a 91 OPS+ in his four seasons with the organization. He has been bouncing around the league ever since.
In 2025, for the first time in a full-length MLB season, Fairbanks was injury-free. The 31-year-old posted a 2.83 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 8.80 K/9, 2.69 BB/9 and a career-high 27 saves in 60 â…“ innings pitched (another career-high). His whiff rate made a leap from 21.8% in 2024 to 26.1% this past season, but that’s only around league average for a reliever—well below where he used to be.
Fairbanks’ four-seam fastball averages 97.3 mph and that’s his most-used pitch against both right-handed and left-handed batters. He pairs it with a mid-80s slider that has been consistently difficult to hit (batting average against of .200 or lower for four straight seasons).
In September, Fairbanks added a cutter to his arsenal. In a tiny sample (42 cutters thrown), it performed like an elite pitch. Using the cutter on a regular basis moving forward could be the key to racking up more strikeouts.
Knowing the player from his time with the Rays, maybe Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix will make a stronger push for Fairbanks than he has for other free agent relievers in the past. It’s safe to assume that the veteran righty can be signed for an annual salary that’s lower than his $11M declined option, but a multi-year deal seems likely for somebody with his good performance and closing experience.
Using a combination of Fairbanks and Ronny Henriquez in save situations would be ideal. Aside from having great stuff, they give hitters much different looks to prepare for with Fairbanks being one of the league’s tallest relievers (6’6″) and Henriquez being one of the shortest (5’10”).
The likelihood that this happens is low, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic mentioning on Tuesday that both 2025 World Series teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, are expected to be suitors for Fairbanks. But it shouldn’t be ruled out considering Bendix’s history of acquiring former Rays and the Marlins’ widely reported interest in improving their bullpen.