Report: Blue Jays, Marlins among teams interested in Fairbanks
The Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are both interested in signing former Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, sources told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo.
Most contenders have also checked in on Fairbanks, Rosenthal and Woo report.
The Blue Jays are in the market for late-inning relievers and were in the mix for Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, and Phil Maton. The team is familiar with Fairbanks, who spent the past seven seasons pitching for the Rays in the AL East before they declined his $11-million club option for 2026.
Toronto's bullpen finished 16th in ERA last season with closer Jeff Hoffman setting a franchise record for home runs allowed in the ninth inning or later. He allowed a game-tying homer to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series, which the Blue Jays went on to lose.
Fairbanks, who rarely allows homers, owns a 3.19 career ERA and 11.3 K/9.
The Marlins, like Toronto, are looking for late-inning relievers and have also been linked to Devin Williams. Miami's bullpen finished fifth in win probability added last season but was 25th in K/9 and 27th in FIP.