Baseball

The Blue Jays have Pete Fairbanks in their sights
Sébastien Berrouard
The Blue Jays have Pete Fairbanks in their sights
Credit: SI.com

With a quality number-one reliever in 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays would have a World Series ring on their finger right now. That's why, despite the fact that it's not customary for the team to spend big in the bullpen, the Blue Jays need to be aggressive in this area this winter.

And it looks like they are, with the Canadiens having held discussions with Raisel Iglesias, Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley, the top three relievers signed since the free agent market opened.

And it looks like it's not over yet. After the news that their division rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, signed reliever Ryan Helsley this weekend, the Blue Jays are now being linked to former Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, according to Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic.

With Ryan Helsley off the market, Pete Fairbanks could be next in line. The Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are among the teams interested in him, according to industry sources.

Anything can always happen on the free-agent market, but the Marlins are a team that won't be able to outbid a wealthy outfit like Toronto for a free agent that both want to acquire.

In fact, Miami's main motivation for spending money this off-season may just be to avoid a potential grievance from the MLB Players' Association. The door therefore seems wide open for the representatives of the Ontario metropolis.

Fairbanks had an eleven-million-dollar club option that the Rays, true to form, declined. The 31-year-old would offer the Jays another option if Jeff Hoffman's inconsistency persisted in 2026, or could even start the next campaign as the number one reliever, which would be the ideal scenario.

This content was created with the help of AI.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!