Rays Shockingly Don't Pick Up Option on Star Relief Pitcher

Did the Tampa Bay Rays make the right decision by not exercising an option on a star player?

Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have now started up their offseason, and there has already been a significant amount of news surrounding the team. 

This is a franchise that got off to a very hot start in 2025 and looked like they were going to be a contender based on their early performance. Unfortunately, the offense started to struggle a bit come summer with a couple of injuries to key players. 

The Rays started to slump heading into the trade deadline, and with the American League East being so good, they elected to be mostly sellers at the trade deadline. However, the team did hold on to a couple of players who were rumored to be available. 

Heading into the winter, two of the top decisions for the team were going to be what they were going to do with the team options of Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks. Due to the team electing not to trade them last summer, both figured to have their options exercised by the team this winter. 

However, after exercising the option of Lowe, the team decided not to do the same with Fairbanks in a somewhat shocking development. 

Closer Pete Fairbanks is now a free agent after the Tampa Bay Rays declined his $11 million option, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 6, 2025

Fairbanks has been a really steady arm when healthy in the bullpen for the Rays but staying on the mound has been a bit of a problem. In 2025, he was able to stay healthy, and it resulted in a strong campaign for the veteran right-hander. 

Was This the Right Move?

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

While the $11 million option might have been a bit steep for Tampa Bay to pay the right-hander in 2026, the overwhelming consensus was that they were going to look to trade him after picking it up. However, with the decision not to pick up the option, it raises some interesting questions.

Coming off a season in which he totaled 27 saves and a 2.83 ERA, it is shocking that the Rays didn’t pick up his option. A quality high-leverage bullpen arm like Fairbanks was going to be paid at a reasonably fair market value, and it’s even more surprising that the team felt that they couldn’t trade him if they did elect to pick up the option but might have wanted to move on.

After the strong campaign, Fairbanks will now be hitting free agency, likely as one of the best relief pitchers available, and it is going to be very interesting to see what his market looks like. Time will tell, based on contract offers, whether or not this was the right decision by the Rays.