Pete Fairbanks is here to stay with the Tampa Bay Rays for the foreseeable future. Fairbanks and the Rays are in agreement on a three-year, $12 million contract, sources told Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Pete Fairbanks' contract includes a fourth-year club option, meaning that the deal could include an optional year, which may be guaranteed, if the Rays choose to do so.
They very well may, especially if Fairbanks pitches as well as he has recently.
The 29-year-old right-hander was traded from the Texas Rangers to the Rays back in 2019 in exchange for then-prospect Nick Solak.
Pete Fairbanks began to thrive in the Rays' closer-less bullpen, as he burst onto the scene in his first full season with the club in 2020, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings pitched.
This past year, the Rays hurler finished the 2022 campaign with 22 scoreless innings pitched after allowing three earned runs in his first two appearances of the year.
The Rays, who had the fourth-best ERA in the big leagues last year, figure to have one of the better rotations once again in 2023.
Part of the success of the Rays' bullpen in particular is their unorthodox approach to the closer's role.
Tampa Bay had as many as 11 players record a save in the 2022 season, with Pete Fairbanks tying for the team lead with eight.
The mix-and-match approach by Rays manager Kevin Cash has worked well, keeping opponents off balance late in games.
With Fairbanks now under contract for the next three years, Tampa Bay should be able to continue their revolving door strategy at the closer's spot.
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