Sources: Fairbanks, Marlins agree to 1-year deal

Reliever Pete Fairbanks and the Miami Marlins are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN. Fairbanks, 32, had an $11 million option turned down by the Tampa Bay Rays and went into the open market and beat that number by $2 million. He was one of the top relievers available in the market for high-leverage options. As the primary closer for the Rays over the past four seasons, Fairbanks saved 83 games and posted a 2.83 ERA, striking out 332 and walking 103 in 2651⁄3 innings. 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 was expected to draw multiyear interest. 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. Amid questions about his durability after he never had thrown more than 451⁄3 innings in a season, Fairbanks booked a career-best 601⁄3 innings in 2025 and logged a career-high 27 saves. The Athletic first reported the agreement.

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