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Blue Jays Named 1 of 2 Teams In On A Top Free Agent Closer
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- Blue Jays Named 1 of 2 Teams In On A Top Free Agent Closer
Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
The Toronto Blue Jays checked one big thing off their winter 'To Do' list when they added to the starting rotation, signing a top free agent starter, Dylan Cease . Arguably, however, an even bigger order of business will be to address the bullpen—the weakest link in their roster.
According to Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo in The Athletic , the Jays have Tampa Bay Rays free agent closer Pete Fairbanks on their radar. But there will be competition for the consistent high-leverage arm.
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.
Per Rosenthal and Woo , the Jays already came up bridesmaids in their pursuit of other bullpen arms like Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias and Phil Maton . All three have signed deals for 2026: Helsley with the Baltimore Orioles , Iglesias back with the Atlanta Braves , and Maton with the Chicago Cubs .
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Fairbanks has fared well against Blue Jays
As for Fairbanks, the Blue Jays are quite familiar with him, facing him in their division for the past six years. And Toronto has obviously been suitably impressed. The right-hander has held them to a stingy .133 batting average and .468 OPS across 27 career innings, with 35 strikeouts. At the Rogers Centre, he has a 2.25 ERA in 8.0 innings.
The Marlins, also in pursuit of Fairbanks, might be even more motivated to sign him, however. The 31-year-old has been practically unhittable facing the Fish. He has not allowed a single run in 15 career innings against them, home or away. He's given up just five hits, and has a 0.67 WHIP to go with that 0.00 ERA against Miami.
An advantage the South Florida team may have, is that Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix was with the Rays from 2009 to '21. He was a big part of the Tampa front office that acquired Fairbanks in a 2019 trade.
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But Toronto, of course, will be able to throw more money at the reliever than the Fish, so that at least levels the playing field.
Fairbanks is the model of consistency at back end of bullpen
Fairbanks has been extremely consistent as the Rays' closer over the past three seasons, registering 25, 23 and 27 saves. He had a 2.98 ERA in 256.2 innings with the team over his seven years there, rarely fluctuating too far from that mark.
Consistent production at the back end of the bullpen is certainly something the Blue Jays would welcome. Fans of the team won't soon forget the home run troubles of 2025 closer Jeff Hoffman . Most certainly not the Miguel Rojas homer in the 9th inning of Game 7 that helped squash the Jays' World Series dreams.
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Toronto's 4.44 playoff bullpen ERA was third-worst among the 12 postseason teams, and their 17 home runs allowed in 18 games was by far the worst among playoff 'pens.
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