MLB Trade Rumors: 3 Surprising Teams Remain In Hunt for Pete Fairbanks

After an all-out run on closers on the free agent market over the last few weeks, Pete Fairbanks is pretty much the last man standing. For teams that are looking to add a legit closer to their bullpen, Fairbanks has the market cornered.

He's averaged 25 saves per season over the last three campaigns with the Tampa Bay Rays, and this past year recorded 27 with a 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He had a 59:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60 innings.

According to the latest reports, there are three surprising teams that are still linked to Fairbanks, after most other teams coveting a high-leverage reliever have gone in a different direction.

Miami Marlins
Chicago White Sox
Arizona Diamondbacks

The Marlins' interest was stated on Foul Territory this week, via Izaac Azout of Fish On First. He says that the Marlins had serious interest in several other closers on the market this winter, including Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley and Kyle Finnegan, but have come up short thus far.

The Marlins are "very much interested" in Pete Fairbanks, according to @IsaacAzout.

"They've even upped their offers to the mid-teens for a one-year deal." pic.twitter.com/643q1RQDIF
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 18, 2025

Azout says the Fish have even upped their contract offer to a number in "the mid-teens" on a one-year deal. That would bring Fairbanks' salary right up there around the Devin Williams territory, at least on an annual basis, as the new Mets closer got a $15M AAV on his three-year deal in Queens.

The White Sox are looking to beef up their bullpen, and had conversations with the Fairbanks camp, but it would be surprising to see them spend that kind of money on a closer, for a rebuilding team that will be nowhere close to the playoffs in 2026.

As for the D-Backs, they were hoping for more of an affordable option to add to the back end of their bullpen in a "payroll-contricted offseason", so if the Marlins are offering that kind of "mid-teens" money, the Snakes would likely be priced out of Fairbanks' market.

Another team that was linked to Fairbanks at one point, and a team desperately in need of a lockdown closer, the Toronto Blue Jays, are suspiciously absent from this list.