Dodgers Linked to 2 AL East Relievers to Bolster Bullpen at Trade Deadline

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been named potential landing spots for two right-handed relief pitchers ahead of the trade deadline.

Baltimore Orioles reliever Felix Bautista and Tampa Bay Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks are possible trade targets for the Dodgers, per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan.

Fairbanks, who was said to have a 60 percent chance of being traded, has a higher likelihood of joining the Dodgers than Bautista, who has a 15 percent chance. 

The Orioles are in third-to-last place in the American League and last place in the AL East. Meanwhile, the Rays are only half a game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the division. 

Although Baltimore is not a contender for the postseason this year, the Orioles plan to be playing in October within the next two years. And Bautista is their closer, meaning Baltimore would want to keep the All-Star in their bullpen before he is eligible for free agency in two years.

Therefore, acquiring Bautista will be much more difficult than acquiring Fairbanks. Fairbanks has a club option for 2026 that is expected to be in the $10 million range. 

Bautista has accrued a 2.60 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 1.12 WHIP in 28 appearances this season. The 2023 American League Reliever of the Year posted a career-best 1.48 ERA that year before missing all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

But since the operation, Bautista has been able to return to the pitcher he was before the injury. He has not allowed an earned run and struck out 12 batters in eight innings throughout June.

Fairbanks, who has spent nearly his entire seven-season career with the Rays, is logging a 2.03 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 31 innings.

Fairbanks had two short stints on the injured list last season with a nerve related issue at the end of April and a right lat strain in mid-August. However, he has made at least 46 appearances in three of the last four seasons, highlighting a level of durability many Dodgers’ pitchers lack. 

The Dodgers already have a solid bullpen but Los Angeles has used their relievers the most of any MLB team this season. Therefore, adding another reliable arm will be beneficial for the postseason.