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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been rumored to be in the market for one of the many highly-rated relievers on the open market.
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Pete Fairbanks surprisingly saw his club option with the Tampa Bay Rays declined, and as such, he became a very attractive free agent. Many believed the Dodgers would be front and center for Fairbanks, given the connection between LA and Tampa.
However, according to one report from Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic, it sounds like Fairbanks isn’t a viable option for the Dodgers.
“With Ryan Helsley off the market, Pete Fairbanks might be the next closer to sign. The Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are among the teams interested in him, according to industry sources briefed on his market.
“Fairbanks, who turns 32 next month, also is familiar to Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, who was with the Rays from 2009 to ’21. Other teams also are in the mix. Most contenders have at least touched base, sources say. In his third season as the Rays’ full-time closer, Fairbanks finished with a 2.83 ERA over 60 innings and posted a career-high 27 saves. The Rays declined his $11 million club option at the end of the season, paying him a $1 million buyout instead to help make their limited offseason budget more flexible.”
As Fairbanks ages, some of his advanced metrics from this past year were not overly impressive. He ranked in the 29th percentile in hard-hit percentage — a concerning number that likely will get worse as he gets older.
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Adding to the theme, Fairbanks also ranked in the 26th percentile in average exit velocity. He was about league average on whiff percentage and chase rate.
A player like Devin Williams would have been a high-end option with a greater ceiling; however, he signed with the New York Mets on Monday night.
Should Fairbanks continue to depreciate as an asset, there are in-house options that likely will end up being more potent plays throughout the 2026 season and beyond. Among them are Kyle Hurt, Ben Casparius, and perhaps even Bobby Miller, assuming he continues to revamp his career as a reliever.
