After winning the World Series in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for a reliable late-inning pitcher in free agency. Reportedly, the org wants to sign Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Pete Fairbanks after they turned down the closer’s $11 million team option. So, now, the 31-year-old reliever can enter the open market.

The Dodgers’ pursuit of Fairbanks is a smart move away from their costly bullpen investments. The team spent a lot of money before the 2025 season, signing Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal, Kirby Yates to a one-year, $13 million contract, and Blake Treinen at $22 million for two years. But the results didn’t turn out as expected.

Scott had a 4.74 ERA in 61 regular-season games and led Major League Baseball with 10 blown saves, which was more than he had in the last two seasons combined. Yates had a 5.23 ERA while on the injured list three times, and Treinen had his worst season in 11 years with a 5.40 ERA. None played in the postseason, which showed serious weaknesses in Los Angeles’ back-end relief corps. Fairbanks gives the Dodgers a steadying presence in the order of their bullpen.

He pitched a career-high 60.1 innings and made a career-high 27 saves during the 2025 season. His 2.83 ERA was clearly better than any other Los Angeles reliever who pitched 25 or more times. Pete’s average fastball speed of 97.3 mph put him in the 90th percentile of MLB. At the same time, he kept opposing batters’ barrel percentage to just 4.8 percent, putting him in the 93rd percentile for efficiency and contact management.

Fairbanks has a 2.90 ERA over more than 200 innings since 2020, which puts him 19th among relief pitchers in that time period. His slider, which he threw 39.8% of the time, was especially deadly, with a .173 batting average against and a 30.8% swing-and-miss rate.

Spotrac’s predictions say that Fairbanks will get a three-year deal worth $41.3 million, or $13.8 million per year. This is a relatively small amount for a team competing for a championship that has the money to spend.

The Rays’ President of Baseball Operations, Erik Neander, explained why they declined Fairbanks’ option in November 2025.

“We had an idea of the market and different things we could do. But also want to make sure that we have enough maneuverability… to target some other areas of our club.” Yet, this is a big change for the team.

Tampa Bay has built its recent bullpen identity around Fairbanks’ reliability. He made 90 saves while playing for the team, the third most in franchise history behind Roberto Hernandez (101) and Alex Colomé (95).

But for Los Angeles, the key to getting Fairbanks is having roster flexibility. That’s where the most recent roster changes come in.

The Dodgers move Robinson Ortiz to make room for reinforcements

Sometimes baseball teams have to make quick trades that fans don’t understand at first. That’s exactly what the Los Angeles Dodgers did. They picked up pitcher Robinson Ortiz on November 6 and then sent him to Seattle ten days later in exchange for minor league pitcher Tyler Gough. The reason?

This trade opened up space on the Dodgers’ roster.

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Gough, a 22-year-old righty from Class-A Modesto, had a 4.66 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 125⅔ innings. Seattle picked him up in the 2022 draft from Serra Catholic High School in Orange County. He had Tommy John surgery and didn’t pitch in 2025.

This is where the real plan comes into play.

Ortiz was going to be a free agent in the minor leagues soon, but he wasn’t on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers would lose him for nothing if they didn’t trade him. Los Angeles made room by sending him to Seattle and getting a prospect in return. Clearly, a smart roster management.

The timing is also important.

The Dodgers now have two open spots on their 40-man roster after giving up Ortiz and having catcher Ben Rortvedt picked up by Cincinnati. These spots won’t stay empty for long.

Now, they’ve made it possible to go after stars like Fairbanks.