REPORT: Cubs Have Bigger (Than Usual) Plans for the Bullpen This Offseason ...Middle East

If you’ve been doing your required reading of late, you’ve probably come across the Cubs rumor (… and dare I say optimism-dense) write-up by Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney at The Athletic. It really got me wheels spinning on what the Cubs may be aiming to do in the rotation this offseason. And against my better judgment, I can already feel myself starting to believe/fall for it again (“it” being the Cubs spending significant money on high-impact free agents).

In any case, buried in the bottom of that article, beyond all the rotation stuff we’ll cover later, is a pretty shocking and M.O.-shaking acknowledgement about the Cubs plans for the bullpen this offseason.

Check it out for yourself:

In reconstructing their bullpen, the Cubs recognize that they can’t only offer one-year contracts to relievers. It’s possible that they will invest multiple years in the right late-inning arms.

That doesn’t mean signing All-Star closer Edwin Díaz to a $100 million contract. Devin Williams, who closed for Cubs manager Craig Counsell during their time with the Milwaukee Brewers, is generating enough early interest to suggest that his next deal will go beyond Chicago’s comfort zone.

But the Cubs are planning to spread their resources around and provide Counsell with several viable options. Pete Fairbanks, the former closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, is a name to keep in mind. A reunion with Brad Keller, who thoroughly enjoyed his time in Chicago, also can’t be ruled out quite yet.

Well, hello.

Historically, the Cubs have built their bullpens the creative way: one year deals for lesser big leaguers, reclamation projections, minor league contracts, internal promotions, etc. And to their credit, it has often worked out. Last season, for example, the Cubs had several big wins, especially one guy, Brad Keller, who now represents the very sort of reliever we hope they CAN sign to a multi-year deal.

And to be quite clear, they are absolutely still going to do that; they have too many holes to fill and have had too much success not keep building efficiently and creatively. It’s just that this time, they might ALSO look to sign an established, big league, late-inning free agent reliever according to Mooney and Sharma. And that’s great.

Indeed, Keller is reportedly one of the pitchers they’ll consider, and he’s certainly a guy we’d all love to see back in Chicago. But my attention today is drawn to the shiny new toy: former Rays closer (and current free agent) Pete Fairbanks …

Pete Fairbanks as a Cubs Relief Target

… who has been very good for very long time:

Since he settled into the big leagues in 2020, Pete Fairbanks has earned a 2.90 ERA (14th best among all relievers, min. 240 IP). And since becoming the full-time closer in Tampa in 2023, he’s collected 75 saves, 12th most in the Majors. There are some red flags, which I’ll cover in a second, but, yeah … If the Cubs were to sign Pete Fairbanks this offseason, he’d easily be one of the most established, legitimate closers they’ve added from outside the organization in years.

Is that likely? Well, there are a few reasons to believe so.

(1) For one, we do know that the Cubs have a lot of bullpen to rebuild this winter, and you simply can’t do it all the creative way. There’s just too much to work through, and that’s way too much pressure on one of the “established” guys they do have in house, Daniel Palencia.

Palencia earned the closer job this past season, no doubt, but so did Adbert Alzolay (in 2023) and Porter Hodge (in 2024). And the next season didn’t go well for either of them. There’s no connection there between the pitchers, it’s just a reminder that you cannot COUNT on guys with such a small track record of success (and that’s coming from someone who really does love Palencia).

(2) For another, well, the Cubs actually had interest in trading for Fairbanks at the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, which may have been more circumstantial (he was one of the guys available) than anything else. But it does signal some potential interest in Fairbanks, the pitcher, now that he’s a free agent.

(3) And for a third, it’s fair to recall that the Cubs did try to sign Tanner Scott to a very big free agent deal last offseason, which does point to a potential change in philosophy, at least for Cubs teams that project competitively to Jed Hoyer.

Add it all up, combine it with his track record and the report at The Athletic, and, yeah, I can definitely buy into a belief that the Cubs will spend more on the bullpen – specifically with a multi-year deals for established late-inning arms – than they have in the past.

Now, there are a couple red flags when it comes to Pete Fairbanks. Two years ago, his fastball velocity dropped from its peak around 99.0 MPH in 2022 and 2023 to where he was earlier in his career/now, which is ~97.0 MPH. Still gas, but definitely a noticeable drop.

And with that drop has come a big drop in strikeout rate:

Those are two fundamentally different guys.

But before you freak, it’s fair to point out that he was still very successful after the drop, particularly with respect to staying off the barrel (4.8 barrel% last season, t-22nd best among all relievers last year). His hard-hit rate spiked a bit, but he gets a lot of groundballs and a TON of infield pop-ups, both of which represent exactly the sort of contact you do want to allow if you’re going to allow any. He also throws an above-average slider and just added a very effective cutter last season. So I just don’t have a lot of concern about that.

And to take it a step further, Pete Fairbanks has reduced his walk rate from 10.9% (2023), to 9.2% (2024), to 7.4% (this past season). And although he’s tougher on righties than he has been on lefties, he has been perfectly great against lefties, too, and all throughout his career. So, yeah, there’s still plenty to like.

As for the cost, MLBTR (which actually did connect Pete Fairbanks to the Cubs in their free agent predictions) has him at just two-years and $18M total. Which, if that’s all it takes … what a no-brainer when guys like Edwin Diaz are out there asking for $100M+.

Of course, Pete Fairbanks (and Keller) aren’t the only free agent relievers of note. There’s also Edwin Diaz (not happening), Devin Williams (probably not happening, but does have the Craig Counsell connection from his time in Milwaukee), Robert Suarez, Ryan Helsley, Taylor Rogers, Kyle Finnegan, Raisel Iglesias, Luke Weaver, and others. Not a horrible year to be willing to spend on the bullpen, all things considered.

Oh, and a final note: Pete Fairbanks was born in Milwaukee and went to high school just outside of St. Louis. Both cities have their own big league teams, sure, but they’re both also pretty darn close to Chicago. Just sayin’.

Hence then, the article about report cubs have bigger than usual plans for the bullpen this offseason was published today ( Saturday 15/11/2025 - 12:55 AM ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

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