Intriguing Braves trade target to fill the closer role

The Braves have several holes to address this offseason, and one of the most pressing is finding a new closer. Raisel Iglesias is set to hit free agency, and while Atlanta should absolutely consider bringing him back after a strong finish to the year, that shouldn’t prevent them from doubling down and adding another high-leverage arm capable of handling the ninth inning.

There are plenty of free agents who could fill that void — names like Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, and Ryan Helsley come to mind — but history suggests Alex Anthopoulos won’t engage in a bidding war for the top relievers on the market. Instead, it’s far more likely he looks to the trade market for bullpen help. One intriguing option is Pete Fairbanks, whom Kerry Miller recently highlighted in his latest piece for Bleacher Report.

Atlanta Braves: A Trade for a Closer
Prime Target: Tampa Bay’s Pete Fairbanks ($12.5M club option)

Over the past three seasons, Raisel Iglesias saved 96 games for Atlanta. Now that he’s a free agent, though, the ninth inning is a big question mark. Joe Jiménez after he missed all of 2025 due to knee surgery? Pierce Johnson with 16 career saves, most of which came while posting a 6.00 ERA with the Rockies in 2023? Moving Reynaldo López back to the bullpen to mitigate injury risk? Trading for an established closer sounds better than any of those options.

Fairbanks has a $12.5 million club option for 2026, which the Rays will almost certainly exercise given his performance. Over the past three seasons, he’s notched 75 saves with a 2.98 ERA. That’s high quality stuff, but it’s also a hefty price tag for a reliever — particularly for a Tampa Bay club isn’t typically interested in paying anybody.

Given the Rays’ position as the fourth — or perhaps even fifth — best team in the AL East, it’s reasonable to think they won’t prioritize keeping an expensive bullpen arm when contention isn’t on the horizon. That makes Fairbanks a logical trade candidate this winter.

The Braves don’t have the prospect depth to pull off another blockbuster like in years past, making such a move would further deplete an already thin farm system. However, Fairbanks should be attainable without a massive prospect cost. He would go a long way toward stabilizing Atlanta’s bullpen, one of the most glaring areas of concern heading into the offseason.