Blue Jays Reportedly Still Interested in Rays' Free Agent Pitcher

Which pitcher from the Tampa Bay Rays are the Toronto Blue Jays interested in?

Apr 16, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A Toronto Blue Jays hat and glove in the dugout during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

With the winter meetings coming to an end, the Tampa Bay Rays will be continuing their offseason with the hopes of improving. 

The Rays were one of the many teams that made an addition during the winter meetings by signing a left-handed reliever. Due to the loss of Pete Fairbanks, the signing of Steven Matz will provide the bullpen with some depth. While he likely won’t close to many games out for Tampa Bay, a southpaw in the bullpen is always valuable. 

Coming into the winter, it was shocking to see the team let Fairbanks go to free agency following the team not picking up his option. As a closer with 27 saves and a 2.83 ERA, the franchise figured to be able to trade him. 

However, the team elected not to go in that direction as they may with Brandon Lowe, and it is a bit puzzling. Fairbanks figures to land a multi-year deal this winter and has a number of suitors. One of which could be from Tampa Bay’s division. 

Jorge Castillo of ESPN recently wrote about the Toronto Blue Jays being interested in the Rays' free agent closer. 

Fairbanks Would Fit a Need

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It is no secret that the Blue Jays have a need in their bullpen, and they expressed interest in some of the high-end talent like Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez. However, both of those options are off the board with Diaz signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Suarez signing with the Atlanta Braves. 

While the team does have Jeff Hoffman in the bullpen as the closer, they seem to want to either move him into the setup role or, at the very least, have another pitcher capable of closing games. Fairbanks would fill that need and would arguably be an upgrade to their current closer. 

Toronto has already spent a lot of money this winter with the additions of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, but they will likely continue to spend. This is a team that still needs to either bring back Bo Bichette or replace him with another bat, and the bullpen need is also paramount. 

For the Rays, losing Fairbanks to a division rival without getting anything in return would be a tough pill to swallow. The Blue Jays are a team that they are going to be trying to chase down in 2026, and losing their closer to them would be far from ideal. However, Tampa Bay can only blame themselves if he ends up going there.