Should the Mets go after elite closer on the trade market?

Fairbanks, who will turn 32 in December, has recorded at least 23 saves in each of the past three seasons for Tampa Bay and pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 61 appearances in 2025. The Rays hold a $7 million club option on Fairbanks they will likely exercise, but that is their only remaining club control on him, which could lead the organization to shop him for assets that could help them in the long run.

DiComo noted in his piece that the Mets and Rays' front offices are frequent trade partners, recently linking up on deals for Brooks Raley (under former GM Billy Eppler in 2023) and Phil Maton (with Stearns in 2024). While some teams are hesitant to deal with Tampa Bay due to concerns of the Rays frequently finding ways to win trades by extracting excess value from their returns, the Mets have shown a willingness to look to Tampa Bay for mutually beneficial deals over the years.

Should the Mets add Pete Fairbanks to their bullpen?

While it could cost a decent prospect or two to add Fairbanks to their bullpen, the Mets should strongly consider adding him via trade. Fairbanks would ideally be a great setup option ahead of Diaz in the back end of the bullpen, while also being a strong option to fill Diaz's shoes if he moves on.

Assuming Tampa Bay picks up Fairbanks' option before a deal, a $7 million value for him is a steal compared to the going rate for setup men on the open market. One of the top setup men on the board, the Mets' own deadline rental in Tyler Rogers, could easily double that salary with the ability to shop his services to multiple teams.

Fairbanks' closing experience is also valuable to the Mets, who would want to carefully manage Diaz's workload so he is effective throughout a potential championship run. Having a setup man with closing experience like Fairbanks would be helpful since the Mets could turn to him to finish games when Diaz needs a day of rest.

Signing Diaz and trading for Fairbanks would allow the Mets to quickly assemble a strong bullpen given some of the other pieces the team already has in house, such as Raley and A.J. Minter. Being able to address the bullpen early would also free up the Mets' front office to make more important calls, such as what to do with Pete Alonso and how to add a front-line starter to their rotation.