Yankees Should Target Rival Closer to Fortify Bullpen

The downside to Fairbanks is that he isn't quite the pitcher that he was two years ago. In 2023, he had a 37% strikeout rate. It was one of the best marks in baseball. Although it was in 15 fewer innings than this year, his 24.2% strikeout rate last season raises some concerns. It’s a steep dropoff, but it shouldn’t take away from the fact that he’s the type of player Cashman should be targeting after last year’s season-long bullpen debacle.

Red flags aside, Fairbanks was such a staple in the Rays' organization that their President of Baseball Operations, Erik Neander, went out of his way to mention how important their now-former closer was to the team.

"He's been a part of a lot of special things on the field. And the work in the community and the interactions with fans in his own personal signature, unique, memorable way -- just a lot to appreciate, and it makes these decisions difficult,” Neander said, according to Adam Berry of MLB.com. "Even without all that, it still was a hard decision, but one we felt we needed to make to give ourselves some flexibility as we enter the winter here.”

Veteran Help

Veterans in general should be the way to go. Since Matt Blake, and Senior Director of Pitching, Sam Briend came into the fold, it felt like it was automatic that at some point every winter, the Yankees would sign an unknown commodity. It would be either a relief pitcher who was good a few seasons prior but disappeared, or a minor league journeyman. The end result would be that they would take over duties in the seventh, eighth, and even ninth innings.

It’s how you go from Aroldis Chapman to Clay Holmes, and then Luke Weaver to take over in the ninth. In 2025, with Holmes starting in Flushing, Weaver having lost his mojo, the once mighty Yankee pen was a weakness until Devin Williams came around after struggling for the vast majority of the season, and David Bednar stepped up after being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

If Williams and Bednar taught the Yankees anything, it’s that having veteran pitching in those later innings is key. It’s not to say that they shouldn’t be looking for diamonds in the rough, because they were still able to find Fernando Cruz after trading for him for the popular catcher Jose Trevino, but finding another former closer should be the way to go. Fairbanks not only brings experience, but, on paper, he and Bednar would be the best relief tandem the Yankees have had since Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman.

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