The Marlins have signed closer Fairbanks to a $13 million one-year deal, setting a new franchise record for the highest annual salary for a relief pitcher.

The Miami Marlins have locked in an important relief pitcher. MLB's official site reported today that the club reached a one-year, $13 million agreement with right-handed pitcher Pete Fairbanks.

Sources indicate that Fairbanks' contract features a $1 million signing bonus and a $1 million incentive bonus tied to his number of appearances. If traded, he would receive an extra $500,000 compensation. The deal is pending a physical exam and has not yet been officially confirmed by the team.

This signing aligns with the Marlins' offseason strategy of focusing on short-term contracts and sets a new annual salary record for relief pitchers in franchise history, surpassing Heath Bell’s average yearly salary of $9 million under his $27 million three-year deal from 2012 to 2014. Fairbanks is the second free agent the Marlins have signed this offseason, following first baseman Christopher Morel.

Just under two days before this announcement, the Marlins revealed that relief pitcher Ronny Henriquez will miss the entire 2026 season due to undergoing a hybrid Tommy John surgery combined with an internal brace procedure. The Marlins had been actively searching for bullpen reinforcements in the free agent market, aiming to improve a relief corps that ranked 22nd in ERA (4.28) and 25th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.21) last season.

Fairbanks reunites with Miami Marlins’ Baseball Operations President Peter Bendix, who joined the Marlins in November 2023 after a long tenure in the Tampa Bay Rays’ front office.

Although the Marlins employed a flexible bullpen management approach in the 2025 season without a designated closer, utilizing a committee to finish games, Fairbanks can adapt to this role or serve as a traditional closer. Other late-inning relievers on the roster include right-handers Anthony Bender, Calvin Faucher, and Tyler Phillips.

After the Tampa Bay Rays declined to exercise Fairbanks’ $11 million option for 2026, instead paying a $1 million buyout, he became a free agent for the first time as he approaches his age-32 season. This decision marked the end of his successful run with Tampa Bay. Following three consecutive seasons with at least 23 saves, Fairbanks finished his Rays career ranked third in franchise history with 90 saves and fourth with 267 appearances.

Fairbanks was selected in the ninth round of the 2015 draft by the Texas Rangers out of the University of Missouri. He made a brief appearance for the Rangers in 2019 before being traded to the Rays in July of that year. The following season, he established himself as a key bullpen piece during Tampa Bay’s World Series run. Between 2020 and 2025, he appeared in 254 games, recorded 88 saves, posted a 2.87 ERA, struck out 11.2 batters per nine innings, and held opponents to a .584 OPS against him.

Fairbanks’ main issue during his time with the Rays was health. From 2021 through 2024, he spent time on the injured list each season until 2025, when he stayed healthy all year, setting career highs with 61 appearances and 60.1 innings pitched.

In the 2025 season, Fairbanks remained effective with a 2.83 ERA and 27 saves in 32 opportunities, but some concerns emerged beneath the surface: his strikeout rate dropped from an elite 37.0% in 2023 to 24.2% in 2025, only slightly above the league average by about two percentage points.

On the other hand, although Fairbanks posted modest numbers last season in chase rate, swing-and-miss rate, and strikeout rate, he maintained a top-tier average fastball velocity of 97.3 mph and excelled at limiting solid contact (his barrel rate ranks better than 93% of pitchers in the league). Besides his powerful four-seam fastball, Fairbanks primarily relies on his slider as his main strikeout pitch, complemented by a mix of changeups and cutters.