Relief pitchers are the easiest thing to come by at the Major League Baseball trade deadline, and that’s great news for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Not only has the Phillies’ bullpen been their most obvious Achilles’ heel, but their most dependable high-leverage reliever is suspended for half of the regular season and the entire postseason.Â
Because JosĂ© Alvarado tested positive for a banned substance, the Phillies don’t have a clear-cut closer heading into June. That’s not a position any team hopes to find themselves in, especially when they have World Series aspirations.
However, there will eventually be teams that decide to sell by the Jul. 31 deadline, and that’s when the Phillies could pounce. And the Tampa Bay Rays could be one of those teams, even if they remain in the playoff hunt.
Accordingly, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer named Rays closer Pete Fairbanks as a potential trade option for the Phillies this summer. Fairbanks has a 2.05 ERA and 10 saves this season.
“What if the vagabond Rays stub their toe early in the summer?” Lauber wondered. “In that case, the Rays could recoup value in a trade for reliever Pete Fairbanks, who has an affordable $7 million club option for next season.
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“Fairbanks blew his only save of the season May 8 against the Phillies. But the 31-year-old righty dialed up 97-98 mph fastballs to post a scoreless inning against them one night earlier. He had a 2.05 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 22 innings entering the weekend.”
Fairbanks has a $3.8 million salary this season and a $7 million club option for next year. $11 million over two years is incredible value for a flamethrower with All-Star potential, even if he’s never gotten the nod to pitch in the Midsummer Classic.
If the Rays did make Fairbanks available, contending teams would be all over him. We’d soon find out if the Phillies wanted him more than their big-market rivals.
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