The Marlins landed a solid closer, and potentially a valuable trade chip next summer.
Miami agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal with closer Pete Fairbanks, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed, after the Rays declined his $11 million team option for the 2026 campaign.
The deal includes a $1 million signing bonus and $1 million in appearance-based incentives, according to MLB.com.
Pete Fairbanks is headed from Tampa Bay to Miami. Getty Images
Fairbanks, 32, had been a reliable closer for Tampa Bay over the last three years, tallying 75 saves while posting a 2.98 ERA.
However, the Rays churn out relievers, and the team opted to turn down his option and pay him a $1 million buyout rather than retain him for the 2026.
Fairbanks now joins an intriguing Marlins team that still may be a year or two away, and may be even further from contention if it trades ace Sandy Alcantara.
The Marlins overachieved last year under first-year manager Clayton McCullough, going 79-83 to finish third in the NL East and actually finishing ahead of the Braves.
There are some building blocks on the roster, with starters Edward Cabrera and Eury Perez, along with standout left fielder Kyle Stowers.
The bullpen, though, clearly needed reinforcements after posting a 4.28 ERA last year, which ranked 22nd in the sport.
The Marlins were pesky last year. AP
Adding Fairbanks should help that cause, and even if the Marlins are out of contention, they should have no trouble flipping him for a prospect or two.
He would receive a $500,000 trade kicker if that happens, per MLB.com.
Fairbanks owns a career 3.19 ERA spanning seven seasons, and has averaged 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
There is some concern that his strikeouts per nine innings have lowered to 8.7 and 8.8 over the last two years, respectively, but he posted a career-best 2.7 walks per nine innings last year.
Fairbanks went 4-5 with a 2.83 ERA spanning 60 1/3 innings in 2025, adding 27 saves.
His deal comes in at about the range non-Edwin Diaz relievers have been signing this offseason, with Devin Williams receiving a $17 million annual average value (ATTS) from the Mets, who also gave Luke Weaver an $11 million AAV contract, and the Braves inking Robert Suarez for $15 million AAV.