It was a rocky year for the Miami Marlins bullpen in 2026, as the entire corps faced injuries and inconsistent performance, and Pete Fairbanks never settled in to the role of closer.

Miami (80-82) missed out on the Wild Card by a handful of games this season, and many might argue that much of their second-half fall from grace was due to the guys who took the ball after the starter exited. And the problems extended beyond just late-inning situations and permeated every aspect of the 'pen. The fallout of that failure leaves the team and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix with some serious questions to answer.

First and foremost, the team will move on from Fairbanks, who arrived with high hopes before the start of the Marlins' most recent campaign. But a muddled performance and an injury turned what will likely be his only season in Miami into a failed experiment.

That's certainly no reason for all the blame to go squarely on the 32-year-old, whom the club signed to a one-year, $13 million contract last winter. He had been successful as part of the Tampa Bay Rays before that, saving 27 games in 2025, but the team declined his option.

Apparently, they knew more than the fish did, as the Fairbanks experiment boiled over in the laboratory. The righty went 4-5, with a monumental 6.31 ERA. While his stats look bad, he still managed to convert 19 of 23 save opportunities in 2026. However, he was shaky at best for many of his outings and showed no signs of developing any dominance. With his contract now expired, it's almost written in stone that the club won't try to re-sign him - unless it's for an incredibly discounted rate.

So, with a hole to fill in the bullpen, the question now becomes: Who will be his replacement... the pitcher entrusted with closing out victories on a team that is poised for the playoffs in 2027?

Bendix & Co. have a few options beyond just the free agent market or the waiver wire scrap heap. Within the organization, there are a number of candidates who manager Clayton McCullough could audition in Spring Training.

Certainly, the team won't look to convert any of top starting prospects into bullpen back-enders, but a couple of hurlers who are in both the bigs and still down on the farm might fit the bill. Righthander Josh Ekness has been mentioned as someone who might get a long look in the slot. And Ronny Henriquez, who will be returning from Tommy John surgery, could an intriguing late-inning save option.

As far as free agents are concerned, the Seattle Mariners' Seranthony Dominguez (5-3 record, 3.63 ERA, 65 strikeouts, and 12 saves) will be on the market. As will be Houston Astros righthander Bryan Abreu, who had a 1.84 ERA post-All-Star break. Both would not only be viable options, but they also don't set things awry financially.

The Marlins have to come up with a solution at stopper if they plan on qualifying for the postseason in 2027.