Fairbanks, Ponce Highlight Active Relief market

With Ryan Helsley off the market, Pete Fairbanks might be the next closer to sign. The Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are among the teams interested in him, according to industry sources briefed on his market.

The Jays, who are in agreement with free-agent right-hander Dylan Cease on a seven-year contract, continue to pursue late-inning relievers, and were in the mix for three who already signed – Helsley, Raisel Iglesias and Phil Maton. Fairbanks, as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, faced the AL East rival Jays frequently enough. In 27 career innings against them, he held Toronto hitters to a .130 batting average and .468 OPS.

Fairbanks,who turns 32 next month,also is familiar to Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix,who was with the Rays from 2009 to ’21. Othre teams also are in the mix. Most contenders have at least touched base,sources say.

In his third season as the rays’ full-time closer, Fairbanks finished with a 2.83 ERA over 60 innings and posted a career-high 27 saves. The Rays declined his $11 million club option at the end of the season, paying him a $1 million buyout rather to help make their limited offseason budget more flexible.

As the markets develop for Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams and Robert Suarez, Fairbanks looms as a viable under-the-radar choice. Helsley agreed Saturday to a two-year, $28 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles, pending a physical. A similar deal is believed to be in range for Fairbanks.

Returning from Korea: A $30M-$40M man?

When The Athletic’s Eno Sarris wrote last week about four potential bargains in free agency, his list included right-hander Cody Ponce, who spent last season in Korea and hasn’t pitched in the majors as 2021.

Turns out Ponce might not be quite the bargain teams anticipated. Industry sources briefed on his market expect he will command a three-year deal of at least $30 million, and possibly in excess of $40 million. The previous high for a pitcher returning from Korea was the two-year, $15 million deal that Erick Fedde signed with the Chicago White Sox prior to the 2024 season.

Sarris wrote, “After sitting 93 with the Pirates in 2020-21, Ponce was up two ticks with the Hanwha Eagles. Those ticks also made his breaking balls better, as thay were unimpressive by shape when he was last in MLB. (His) new pitch was a plus splitter that he threw more then any other secondary. The result was a strikeout percentage that was better than any of the other pitchers who have come over from KBO.”

Ponce, listed at 6-feet-6 and 255 pounds, went 17-1 with Hanwha with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 180 2/3 innings.he spent the previous three seasons in japan, and did not enjoy that level of success.