An American League East club put another prominent pitcher on the open market Thursday.

The Tampa Bay Rays declined Peter Fairbanks’ $11 million club option for 2026, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan . Their closer from the last three seasons is now a free agent.

This would be a surprising move coming from most other clubs. Fairbanks has posted a 2.98 ERA in seven seasons with the Rays, and he delivered a 2.83 ERA and 27 saves in a career-high 60 1/3 innings during the 2025 campaign.

Yet the Rays are a notoriously frugal franchise that had MLB’s fifth-lowest team payroll in 2025. Yandy Díaz is currently slated to be their highest-paid player next year at $12 million.

A lengthy injury history may have also scared away Tampa Bay. Fairbanks, who turns 32 in December, hadn’t pitched more than 45

See Full Page