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Now that the starting rotation has been bolstered with the high-impact acquisition of Dylan Cease this past week, it’s on to the bullpen for Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins.
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Citing “industry sources briefed on the market” the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo report that the Jays and the Florida Marlins are two prominent teams bidding for Fairbanks, who became a free agent after serving three seasons as the Rays primary closer.
The 2025 season was Fairbanks’ strongest in that role as he finished with a career-best 27 saves while pitching to a 2.83 ERA over 60 innings. The generally lower-budget Rays set him free after declining an $11-million US player option following the 2025 campaign.
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What about Jeff Hoffman?
The Jays pursuit of Fairbanks is consistent with their activity in the free-agent market this off-season, activity signalled by Atkins when he spoke with the Toronto media days after the heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When asked if Jeff Hoffman was the shoo-in to return as closer, Atkins deflected.
“The great thing about Jeff is he’s not married to that,” Atkins said. “Talking about the cohesion and team approach (of the Jays), he epitomizes that.
“I think he would be open to anything that makes us better.”
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It certainly was an up-and-down first season with the Jays for Hoffman, who replaced Jordan Romano in the closer’s role. He was brilliant at times and struggled at others in his first full-time crack at the high-pressure role.
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After a strong post-season, Hoffman surrendered a ninth-inning homer to the Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas that tied up Game 7 of the World Series, a miscue he took hard.
“I cost everybody in here a World Series ring, so (it) feels pretty s*****.” Hoffman said following the game. “Just got to execute better in that spot and not let that happen.”
Fairbanks not the Jays first relief target
According to multiple reports, the Jays have been in the mix for a number of late-inning relievers including Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Raisel Iglesias, all of whom are off the market after signing.
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The pursuit of potential closers such as Fairbanks isn’t a complete indictment of Hoffman, who the Jays expect to be very much in their late-inning plans for 2026. But there always was a need to land another high-impact, high-leverage arm for the bullpen, whatever the role, and Fairbanks fits that bill.
Given his work with an AL East rival, the Jays are certainly well aware of Fairbanks’ prowess. In 28 games against Toronto, the righty has held Jays hitters to a modest 1.33 ERA.
If the Jays sign him, he could become a closer or a setup man for Hoffman, depending on how things would play out during spring training.
The Jays reported interest in Fairbanks is just the latest signal of how active Atkins is yet again this winter, activity that is expected to accelerate in the coming days with baseball’s Winter Meetings set to get under way in Orlando, Fla., next week.
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