Tampa Bay Rays just gifted Guardians with the perfect bullpen weapon 

The Cleveland Guardians haven’t been very kind to Pete Fairbanks lately. The last time we saw him face off against Cleveland, he took a loss in the ninth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field thanks to a Steven Kwan infield single. 

The last time he was in Cleveland, he gave up a game-tying home run to Nolan Jones that helped turn the Guardians’ season around. And if that wasn’t enough, the last time he faced off against the Guardians in the postseason he ended up leaving Tampa Bay’s eventual 1-0 Wild Card Series loss due to numbness in his finger. 

But now there’s a chance the Guardians could help him turn Progressive Field from a house of horrors to a home. Last week the Rays declined their $11 million option on Fairbanks for the 2026 season and paid him a $1 million buyout, which means that he’s officially a free agent. 

Fairbanks is perhaps the poster child for the Rays’ pitching development. The Rays acquired him in 2019 in exchange for Nick Solak and he finished his Rays career with 317 strikeouts (the second-most in Rays history among relievers), 90 saves (third) and 256 2/3 innings (seventh).

He was a crucial piece in the bullpen for a Rays team that made the postseason in five straight seasons from 2019 to 2023. 

But the Rays elected to go in a different direction in what is set to be an uncertain offseason considering they have a new ownership group and are still working to get Tropicana Field set for games in 2026. 

Fairbanks seemed to understand that. 

“I think there’s just a lot of unknowns with new ownership and how that’s going to affect payroll and everything going forward,” Fairbanks told the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin. “To really get everything squared away, you need a for-sure stadium.” 

Fairbanks will have no shortage of suitors in free agency, but he’d be an obvious upgrade for a Guardians bullpen that’s going to need to adjust to life post-Emmanuel Clase. 

Pete Fairbanks stands out as an obvious bullpen fit for the Cleveland Guardians

Batters had a barrel rate of just 4.8% against Fairbanks last year, and his expected batting average of .220 was in the 77th percentile. However, it’s worth noting that he posted a strikeout rate around 24% in 2024 and ‘25 after having it sit around 35% in years prior. 

Needless to say, the 32-year-old will have an interesting free agent market considering all of baseball knows the Rays decided he wasn’t worth $11 million. But just because that wasn’t the case for the Rays doesn’t mean that another team won’t think he’s worth that amount. 

No one will ever mistake the Guardians for the Dodgers, but signing Fairbanks to a multi-year pact that ends up being worth more than that. Cade Smith will get the ball in the ninth inning for the Guardians, but there’ll be plenty of high-leverage opportunities available behind him.  

Fairbanks stands out as the best option to fill those opportunities.