Blue Jays could land former Rays reliever for a bargain price

The Toronto Blue Jays have done a decent job so far in revamping their pitching staff ahead of the 2026 MLB season. The Blue Jays went big in the free agent market to make key additions in Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers and of course the most prominent one of them all in Dylan Cease. In doing so, Toronto has invested quite a bit of their financial resources already with some outstanding needs still to be addressed.

One of those needs that remain is their bullpen, despite having already added Rogers from free agency and Chase Lee from the Detroit Tigers via trade. The Blue Jays still need a dominant flamethrower that can help stabilize the back end of the bullpen, but one in which they can also afford without jeopardizing their other top free agent pursuits. That prime candidate is former Tampa Bay Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks, as he could potentially now be had at a bargain price.

Blue Jays could land former Rays reliever for a bargain price

Fairbanks is an elite closer that has posted three consecutive seasons of 20 saves or more while maintaining a lifetime 3.19 ERA and a 30% strikeout rate during his seven seasons in the major leagues. In addition, he is hands-down the best closer remaining on the free agent market, so one would think there would be a huge bidding war for his services as a result.

Well apparently, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic brought up key points in his recent article that could limit what Fairbanks is looking for. For one, Rosenthal suggested that seeing the 32-year-old veteran reliever still currently lingering in the free agent market further justified why the Rays failed to trade him this past season. In addition, he brought up the potential worry of Fairbanks’ durability as prior to 2025, he had never pitched more than 45. 1 innings.

Finally, Rosenthal compared Fairbanks to two solid relievers who recently found new homes in Brad Keller with the Philadelphia Phillies and Luke Weaver with the New York Mets. Both players inked two-year, $22 million deals, which comes out to $11 million per season. Thus, Rosenthal claimed that it’s unlikely Fairbanks will command the $11 million salary that he would have gotten from the Rays, whom declined his $11 million option to push him into free agency.

With other top free agent closers that have already been snatched up this offseason, they had been all going at a rate way higher than that $11 million AAV threshold. As a result, the current slow market for Fairbanks could pave way for the Blue Jays to potentially nab him in a value deal.

Even former Blue Jays reliever Dan Plesac has personally endorsed the 32-year-old closer as well. Yes, there will be that health risk, but to be able to land an actual difference maker for their relief corps that could elevate them to the next level, it may be a risk Toronto needs to boldly take.