Unexpected Rays castoff is a fit too good to be true for Mariners bullpen

As much as some people are quite right to decry the lack of success during nearly five decades of Seattle Mariners baseball, you can still point to them being one of the few consistent contenders in recent years. Dating back to and including 2021, they are one of only four teams to total 85-plus regular season wins each year, and this has to count for something.

Among the keys to this ongoing consistency has been the overall success of the bullpen, highlighted by ranking in the top 10 for lowest ERA between 2021-25. However, some cracks did begin to appear during this past season, with their rankings of 13th in WHIP and 16th in opposing team batting average being the poorest during the aforementioned time period.

The nucleus of the Mariners bullpen remains tremendous with the likes of Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo. However, the trade deadline addition of Caleb Ferguson proved to be a failure and some of the issues during the playoffs showed the M's could still use another quality reliever (or two).

Adam Jude of The Seattle Times recently offered free agent Devin Williams as a potential solution, but we wrote about how he's a polarizing option who we're not entirely sold on. In any event, another possibility has now emerged who, even though he hasn't been connected to the Mariners in a meaningful way, is still a fit that we do like.

Pete Fairbanks isn't on the radar in Seattle but he should be

As per Adam Berry of MLB.com, the Tampa Bay Rays declined Pete Fairbanks' $11 million option for next season and instead paid him a $1 million buyout. He played a pivotal role in the team's five consecutive playoff appearances between 2019-23 and leaves the organization ranked second all-time in strikeouts, third in saves and fourth in appearances.

We can appreciate why some might question the wisdom of pursuing a pitcher who will be 32 next month and has seemingly been cast to the wayside. However, there's still plenty of life left in the old dog, with Fairbanks coming off a year where he set single-season highs with 61 appearances and 60.1 combined innings.

Plus, it's not as if the righty wasn't also still extremely productive, as evidenced by a 2.83 ERA and 1.044 WHIP. As per Baseball Savant, he might not miss bats like he did a couple of years ago, but his fastball is still upper 90s/triple digits (averaging 97.3 mph) and his slider remains a nasty pitch.

As always money will be the biggest challenge for Mariners ownership

In an ideal world, Fairbanks would be a tremendous addition for the Mariners, although he has been a closer in recent years whereas Muñoz is the main man in this area in Seattle. However, it never hurts to have a solid backup option and you'd like to think the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native will be adaptable, especially if he's looked after financially, which brings us to arguably the biggest obstacle.

As much as the Rays didn't find it easy to close the book on Fairbanks, the stark reality is that they couldn't justify making him one of the highest-paid players on the roster. And even though it's questionable he will make $11 million in 2026 elsewhere, he still stands to be an pricey addition wherever he ends up.

Not that Fairbanks doesn't deserve it, but it's a question of how much the Mariners are prepared to offer and if it will have to be a multi-year deal. He can still throw strikes and would help the M's bullpen become elite in both talent and depth, but it remains to be seen if Jerry Dipoto and the rest of the front office give him serious consideration.