Rays decline option on Pete Fairbanks; closer now free agent

Closer Pete Fairbanks will hit free agency after the Tampa Bay Rays declined their $11 million option on him Thursday.

The decision was among several announced by the Rays on Thursday, with the team also exercising 2026 club options for infielders Brandon Lowe and Taylor Walls.

Fairbanks, who turns 32 in December, will be one of the top relievers available in a market soft with high-leverage options. As the primary closer for the Rays over the past four seasons, he has saved 83 games and posted a 2.83 ERA, striking out 332 and walking 103 in 265.1 innings.

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With a fastball that sits at 97 mph, a well-above-average slider and a cutter that was added midseason in 2025 and graded out as an elite pitch, Fairbanks is expected to draw multiyear interest in a free agent market soft with relief options.

After the top reliever on the market, right-hander Edwin Diaz, Fairbanks slots in strongly in the second tier, with right-handers Devin Williams, Robert Suarez, Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers. Others with multiple years of closing experience include left-hander Taylor Rogers and right-handers Kyle Finnegan, Raisel Iglesias, Emilio Pagan, Kenley Jansen and David Robertson. Relievers expected to draw interest from teams include right-handers Brad Keller and Luke Weaver, plus left-handers Steven Matz and Caleb Ferguson.

While Tampa Bay valued Fairbanks, its payroll going into the 2026 season is unlikely to climb, and the Rays chose to pay the $1 million buyout on the deal rather than devote a significant portion of its payroll to a relief pitcher with a strong relief corps returning.

Fairbanks’ best full season came in 2023, when he struck out 13.5 batters per nine innings and had greater than an 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. With questions about his durability present after never throwing more than 45.1 innings in a season, Fairbanks booked a career-best 60.1 innings in 2025 and logged a career-high 27 saves.