Orioles’ ideal bullpen fix might be too costly to pull off

The Baltimore Orioles have full agenda this offseason. Hgh up on the list is fixing a starting rotation that was problematic in 2025. Right up there in terms of importance, however, is filling the Felix Bautista-sized hole in the ninth.

All of this (and more) will be necessary if the Orioles want to put a disappointing 2025 behind them and return to the tier of elite contenders in the American League. To that end, the folks over at Bleacher Report have a perfect trade target to anchor the bullpen, but a hurdle exists.

The idea is that the Tampa Bay Rays will pick up their $12.5 million option on Pete Fairbanks with the goal of taking advantage of a weak free-agent closer market. The question is, would they trade him within the division?

Rays' closer Pete Fairbanks could be a perfect Orioles' trade target but an intra-division trade might not be in the cards

Ahead of the 2023 season, the Rays extended Pete Fairbanks to the tune of three years and $12 million. The deal bought out all of Fairbank's arbitration years, plus came with a club option for $12.5 million which would cover one year of free agency. That's nearly market-rate, something that Tampa was never realistically going to pay, though they've never been ones to give away an asset for free.

For the Orioles, Fairbanks is an attractive option for multiple reasons. First, the team needs more than just a closer after trading away Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto, and Andrew Kittredge at the deadline. Secondly, Fairbanks would provide a near-elite closer at a slight discount.

The free-agent closers worth considering can essentially be broken down into three tiers. One, the truly elites, which consists of Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez, both of whom have opt outs. Two, the aged, formerly elite relievers who are getting long in the tooth like Kenley Jansen and David Robertson. Finally, tier three consists of those who have fallen from grace. That would include guys who used to be lights out but struggled mightiy in 2025, like Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley.

Fairbanks exists in something of his own realm. He's not quite Edwin Diaz, but he's close and at $12.5 million would be a good bit cheaper. The bigger issue is, would the Rays be willing to deal him to a division rival?

The two teams have been trade partners before, but never on anything of this magnitude. Most recently, the Orioles traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays, but before that the last consequential trade between the clubs was the 2017 deadline deal that sent Tim Beckham from Tampa to Baltimore.

Fairbanks is in a different category than a journeyman reliever like Baker or a light-hitting infielder like Beckham, though. That said, Tampa has been a willing trade partner with every team in the AL East as long as their price is met.

That means, Baltimore can't be excluded as a destination for Fairbanks, but it won't be easy. Tampa will be looking for a premium for one of their best trade chips. Once the cost of prospects and/or young major leaguers is factored in, will Fairbanks be as big of a bargain? The Rays probably add a little "AL East tax" to their asking price from the O's, at which point, it might be better to pursue another option in order to not run out of assets to solve the rest of their offseason needs.