The Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a multi-year contract with bullpen pitcher Pete Fairbanks to avoid salary adjustments.
Tampa Bay signed a contract with Fairbanks on the 28th (Korean time) for a three-year guarantee of $12 million (approximately 14.8 billion won). There is a club option for the fourth year, and if incentives based on performance are included, the contract is worth up to $24.6 million (approximately 30.3 billion won) over four years.
Fairbanks was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 2015 draft with the 258th overall pick in the ninth round. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 while playing in the minor leagues and devoted himself to rehabilitation until 2018.
After his rehabilitation, he was promoted to single-A, double-A, and triple-A all at once in 2019, and made his major league debut in June of that year. He played for Texas for about a month before being traded to Tampa Bay in July.
His first year of debut was average with 2 wins, 3 losses and 2 saves in 21 games (21 innings) with an earned run average of 6.86. He became a winning group in 2020 with an average ERA of 2.70 with 6 wins, 3 losses and 7 holds in 27 games (26⅔ innings). In 2021, he went 3-6 with 14 holds and 5 saves in 47 games (42⅔ innings) with an earned run average of 3.59. 먹튀검증
Last year, he made his first appearance of the season in mid-July due to a side injury. In the first game, he allowed 1 home run and 1 run in 1 inning, and in the second game, he allowed 2 hits and 2 runs in 1 inning.
However, the season ended with 22 consecutive scoreless innings in 22 games. He played in 24 games (24 innings) with 6 holds, 8 saves, and an average ERA of 1.13. He boasted powerful pitching, ranking second in WHIP (0.67), fourth in earned run average, and strikeout rate of 44% among pitchers who threw 20 or more innings in the American League.
Fairbanks, who was the first to qualify for a salary adjustment application, asked for $1.9 million, and the club offered $1.5 million, with a hearing scheduled for next week.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the extension will bring Fairbanks a $3.67 million salary over three seasons. There is a bonus of up to $300,000 for pitching with 40 or more finishers in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Depending on the number of games played in the 2025 season and accumulated over three years, the club option for the 2026 season will increase to $7 million, up to $11 million. He also gets $500,000 if he wins the league’s best relief pitcher award.