The Miami Marlins are signing Pete Fairbanks to a one-year, $13 million deal. It includes a $12 million salary, $1 million signing bonus, $1 million in incentives based on total appearances and a $500,000 acquisition bonus if he is traded during the 2026 season. The deal is pending a physical. Will Sammon of The Athletic was first to report Tuesday afternoon that an agreement had been reached.
Fairbanks, who turned 32 earlier this month, has spent the vast majority of his MLB career with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2025, he set career-highs with 60Â â…“ innings pitched and 27 saves, though his 3.61 FIP was the worst mark since his rookie season. The Rays could’ve retained him for 2026 on an $11 million club option, but declined it.
Fairbanks has generally utilized a two-pitch arsenal, consisting of a four-seam fastball and slider. However, he gradually increased his changeup usage last season to 4.9% and also introduced a cutter in September.
The Marlins upped their offer to Fairbanks recently, as Fish On First’s Isaac Azout reported last week. Losing Ronny Henriquez to season-ending elbow surgery may have pushed them to sweeten the deal even more. Various other reports linked Fairbanks to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers during his free agent process.
Adding Fairbanks along with Christopher Morel (1-YR/$2M) means that the Marlins have signed multiple players to fully guaranteed major league free agent deals in the same offseason. The last time that happened was 2022-23 (Johnny Cueto and Jean Segura).
Miami’s 40-man roster is full, so there will have to be a corresponding move for them to officially announce the signing of Fairbanks.