Pete Fairbanks has signed with the Miami Marlins.
The Miami Marlins came to terms on Wednesday with reliever Pete Fairbanks, delivering a Christmas Eve present to their fans - and a lump of coal to Toronto Blue Jays fans.
Fairbanks had been connected to the Jays for much of the offseason, but he ends up signing a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $13 million.
Will Sammon of The Athletic had the information on social media.
The reality of the Blue Jays bullpen
The Jays went into this offseason with the goal of upgrading their bullpen from a season ago, and they've seemingly done that. Though Seranthony Dominguez is a free agent, the team went out and added Tyler Rogers, and they are getting Yimi Garcia back from injury.
Adding Fairbanks, Edwin Diaz, Raisel Iglesias or Devin Williams was a luxury, not a necessity, but the Jays did miss out on all of them.
As of now, Toronto has seven of eight spots in its bullpen seemingly filled with Rogers, Jeff Hoffman, Garcia, Mason Fluharty, Jose Berrios, Eric Lauer and Louis Varland.
Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little, Yariel Rodriguez, Bowden Francis, Ricky Tiedemann and multiple others will battle for the eighth spot.
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What does this now mean?
Despite some questions - and the interest in other options - it seems like Hoffman will remain the closer for the Jays in 2026, with Varland, Garcia and Rogers serving as leverage options.
The one thing truly missing from the bullpen is a power lefty, so we'll see if the Jays scour the trade market for one - or if they are able to make a move at the deadline.
Could a trade still happen?
Absolutely. Berrios, Lauer, Francis and Rodriguez are all trade chips in their own way, though Rodriguez seems to have little value after being outrighted.
What now for Toronto?
Now, it's time for the Jays to focus on the offense. We've discussed several times the situation with Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker. Just recently, we explored the idea of the Jays signing one of the premier infielders and Tucker. It seems farfetched, but there is a pathway to its possibility if the Blue Jays want to take a risk.
Despite the urgency in getting something done, it's likely that the Fairbanks move will be the last big one in baseball for the next few days. Though deals can get done at any time, the baseball world typically shuts down for the Christmas holiday and then ramps back up again after the first of the year.
Once the new year begins, we'll have just six weeks until the Blue Jays hit the field again for spring training.
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