Another closer has picked a new home, and it wasn’t Arizona.
Pete Fairbanks reportedly agreed to a one-year, $13-million deal with the Marlins on Wednesday, as another late-inning option is off the board while the Diamondbacks continue looking for upgrades.
Major League Baseball’s reliever market has been flying this offseason compared to other positions. Edwin Diaz is a Dodger, Devin Williams is a Met, Ryan Helsley is an Oriole and Kenley Jansen is a Tiger.
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The Diamondbacks went into the offseason making it clear that bullpen was an area of need after what was a pretty disastrous 2025 campaign for the unit aside from the first three weeks before injuries to A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez.
The Diamondbacks have not added a major league reliever this offseason entering Christmas Eve, only having signed starters Merrill Kelly and Michael Soroka to build out the rotation.
“Many teams need relief pitchers. Once those dominoes start to fall, I think it’s been a fairly typical pattern,” general manager Mike Hazen said last week. “We’ve been engaged in the market. We’ll continue to be, we want to add to our bullpen and improve our bullpen.”
The club found value on minor league deals last offseason, particularly with Shelby Miller and Juan Morillo, and it has dished out a handful of those so far — Taylor Rashi, Gerardo Carrillo, Isaiah Campbell and John Curtiss, included.
MLB.com listed out free agents sorted by WAR at the start of the offseason, and 14 of the top-16 relievers are off the board. The Athletic ranked free agents after the World Series, and the top-10 relievers are already signed.
So, who is left?
There is always the trade market to consider.
What the Diamondbacks can get for outfielder Alek Thomas or Jake McCarthy factors in, as well as a potential resolution to the Ketel Marte rumors. St. Louis lefty JoJo Romero and Milwaukee righty Trevor Megill are among the bigger names who have been in rumors at some point this offseason.
But to present a layout of the market, here are 10 free agent relievers still available with possible upside.
Diamondbacks offseason: What free agent relievers are left?
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
RHP Pierce Johnson (34)
Let’s start with someone the Diamondbacks have already shown interest in acquiring.
Johnson was solid last season in Atlanta, pitching to a 3.05 ERA in 59 innings, and that’s after a four-run outing to end his season ballooned his ERA.
The 34-year-old leans heavily on his curveball, which he threw 72% of the time last year, more than any other pitcher. His metrics aren’t eye-popping, but he worked an above-average strikeout and walk rate last season. He did not draw many ground balls, however.
He throws a mid-90s mph fastball, nothing overwhelming, but he was very good statistically in high leverage situations and has been a mostly reliable option, especially over the past three years.
Pierce Johnson's Nasty Curveball? pic.twitter.com/MlrDF2Fsd6
— Eric Yu (@Eric35_Yu) June 4, 2025
RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (31)
Loáisiga’s on-field resume has been impressive, as he throws a 96-98 mph heater and a changeup that drew 36% whiffs in 2025. His ground ball rate has been elite throughout his career, and he’s carried a 3.36 ERA from 2019-25 with the New York Yankees.
Health, however, has been a problem.
He has only pitched 51.1 innings for New York over the past three seasons, most recently missing the end of 2025 with a right flexor strain.
Loáisiga is set to play winter ball in his home country of Nicaragua this offseason and has ambitions to pitch in the World Baseball Classic.
There are reasons to be optimistic about the ceiling, but his injury history makes him a low-floor flier.
Jonathan Loáisiga is a free agent.
There are loads of teams that need high-leverage bullpen help.
You get:– 40.6% Chase%– 26.5% Whiff%– 50% GB%– Career ERA of 3.54
Unfortunately, we're yet to see his full talent on display. 249 innings in 7 seasons is brutal. pic.twitter.com/NnB5c3LKw8
— LouisAnalysis (@LouisAnalysis) November 15, 2025
RHP Tyler Kinley (34)
Kinley had a 6.16 ERA in 85 games for the Rockies between 2023-24, but his peripherals suggested he was better than that. He threw gas and limited hard contact, but as a fly ball pitcher with a high walk rate in mile-high Colorado, there were some issues.
Last year, when he got out of Colorado, he was great.
The right-hander was traded to the Braves midseason, for which he delivered 25 innings with a 0.72 ERA and 22 strikeouts to six walks.
Kinley gave up the lowest hard-hit rate in MLB among pitchers with at least 70 innings last season.
His slider produced a run value of 12 per Statcast, which was top seven among sliders in the game. He threw fewer four-seam fastballs and added a curveball, which drew 45% whiffs.
Kinley’s career has been pretty up-and-down, but he is coming off of his best stretch after escaping Coors Field and potentially finding some answers with his pitch mix.
He’s also been pretty good at Chase Field in his career with a 3.50 ERA and .167 opposing batting average in 17 appearances, for what that’s worth.
RHP Michael Kopech (29)
Kopech can throw fire, hitting 102 mph on the gun, and he’s worked an effective 3.32 ERA over the past two years with 24 saves.
The issue is he only threw 11 innings last year due to shoulder and knee injuries. He was healthy for the Dodgers for only three weeks.
He also walks a lot of hitters, nearly a fourth of the batters he faced in a limited sample size last year.
Kopech’s age and stuff would make his a high-upside reliever signing, perhaps someone who could do well in free agency. But there were some issues last year that make his market more difficult to project.
102 MPH GAS ?
Michael Kopech is throwing flames! pic.twitter.com/GuY1YuurCK
— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2024
RHP Seranthony Dominguez (31)
Dominguez has 40 saves and an ERA of 3.50 throughout his seven-year career. He was pretty good in 2025 with the Orioles and Blue Jays, despite the lasting image of him giving up the Game 5 grand slam to Eugenio Suarez in the ALCS.
The righty tossed 62.2 innings and struck out 79 batters with a 3.16 ERA and 3.47 FIP. His whiff rate, exit velocity and fastball velocity were all among the best in the league, as he can hit triple digits on the radar gun. His strikeout rate also climbed above 30% for the first time since 2021.
The red flag is that his walk rate skyrocketed from 8.2% to 13.8%, the fourth-highest among pitchers with at least 60 innings.
Home runs have plagued him in the past, which paired with the walks presents some risk, but he has electric stuff and has been a solid reliever for most of his career.
Seranthony Domínguez, 98mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/iyabnNN0t8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 14, 2025
LHP Danny Coulombe (36)
Coulombe is 36 years old and does not throw hard, but he has a deep arsenal and has been effective at limiting runs over the past half-decade.
Since 2021, he’s never finished a season with an ERA higher than 3.67, and his ERA over the past four years is 2.38 (3.07 FIP) with five saves. He gave up runs in seven of 51 appearances in 2025.
Coulombe was not as good after getting traded from Minnesota to Texas at the deadline, where the home run ball bit him.
His peripherals were also less starling, as the 11-year vet’s strikeout rate rate dropped from 29.9 in 2024 to 24.4 in 2025, while his walk rate climbed from 4.7% to 10.2%.
A point in his favor, though, is that he’s produced good results against lefties and righties throughout his career.
LHP Jalen Beeks (32)
Beeks was a good pickup for the Diamondbacks right before the 2025 season started, as he made 61 appearances with a 3.77 ERA in his first year in the Valley.
The southpaw was effective against both lefties (.190 BA) and righties (.218 BA), as his changeup was top-tier. Opponents hit .067 against the off-speed pitch, the best in the league with a minimum of 200 pitches thrown.
Beeks saved one game and filled a number of roles, so while he is not a closer, he was a valuable member of the bullpen.
RHP Kirby Yates (38)
Was that the cliff?
Yates was arguably the best reliever in baseball during the 2024 season in Texas with a 1.17 ERA and 33 saves. He cashed in a $13-million deal with the Dodgers to join a super bullpen that never really materialized.
Yates had a 2.95 ERA through 21 outings on May 14, but after a poor outing, he landed on the IL with a right hamstring strain.
He returned on June 8 and had a mixed bag couple months statistically before hitting the IL with lower back pain. He returned in late August and was terrible, with nine earned runs in 10 innings before ending his season on the IL with another right hamstring strain.
He did not pitch in the postseason and finished the year with a 5.23 ERA.
Was this a case of injuries impacting a previously well-performing pitcher or something more?
Yates will be 39 years old next season, after all.
RHP Tommy Kahnle (36)
Kahnle is a ground ball and changeup savant and has been for a number of years.
He saved nine games for the Tigers in 2025, starting the year really strong with a 1.77 ERA at the end of June. A disaster July ended his days closing games, but he rebounded with a better final two months of the year.
The righty has pitched a lot of high-leverage baseball with 31 playoff games of experience and a 3.06 ERA in October, although he was the losing pitcher in Detroit’s 15-inning marathon loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALDS this past fall.
His strikeout rate took a dive this past season, but he’s managed an above average-to-great ground ball rate every year since 2019.
RHP Hunter Harvey (31)
Harvey did not allow a run in 2025, but he only pitched 10 innings due to injuries.
He throws hard, keeps the walks down and has an above-average strikeout rate, but health has been a concern over the past two years with the Royals.
When healthy, the results have been pretty good, as he owns a 3.07 ERA since the start of 2022 (156 games).
How about five more quick-hitters for fun:
RHP Jakob Junis (33): Produced a 2.83 ERA in 133.2 innings over the past two seasons. Only throws 91 mph but mixes speeds to draw weak contact. Does not allow many free passes. Only two career saves, as he has been more of a multi-inning reliever or swingman.
RHP Ryne Stanek (34): Throws really hard. Walk rates are typically high, but his strikeouts took a dip this past year. His 5.30 ERA in 2025 was his highest since 2020.
RHP Drew Smith (32): Underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2024 and has not pitched since. Has returned to throwing off a mound, posting on Instagram, “Healthy and feeling better than ever, came back with a new pitch, too.” Had a 3.06 ERA with Mets when injury occurred. Five-pitch mix with lots of strikeouts and high walk rate.
RHP Nic Enright (28): Made MLB debut in 2025 with Cleveland and threw 31 innings with 2.03 ERA and 3.81 FIP. Threw a 93 mph fastball with a slider that drew 43% whiffs. Has continued to pitch while receiving treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma.
On December 22, 2022, Nic Enright was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Last night, the rookie pitcher, who is expected to go through more cancer treatments this fall, picked up his first career save for the Guardians and reflected on his journey ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Y3ZXbLZnqe
— MLB (@MLB) August 5, 2025
LHP Andrew Chafin (36): Has been with the Diamondbacks twice already, making more appearances in relief for the club than anyone else in team history. His last stint with the D-backs in 2023 did not go particularly well as he had to fill a late-inning role, but he’s put together a couple good seasons since then (3.10 ERA), finding success keeping the ball on the ground.
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