The Winter Meetings got off to a slow start on Monday, as rumors swirled but very few moves came to fruition in the early stages. The White Sox had a mostly quiet day on the rumor mill, but with the team looking for upgrades in several areas, there was certainly work going on behind the scenes. White Sox fans got their first real rumor of the meetings Monday night, as MLB.com ‘s Scott Merkin shed some light on a potential pursuit in the bullpen
I wrote about this in my story today coming soon to a https://t.co/G34Or1gtT9 near you, but White Sox have some preliminary interest in Pete Fairbanks, per source.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 9, 2025
Fairbanks, who will be 32 in just a couple weeks, was originally a ninth round pick by the Texas Rangers in 2015. He made his big league debut with the Rangers in 2019 before a midseason trade sent him to the Tampa Bay Rays. Fairbanks threw 12.1 innings down the stretch for the Rays and struggled to a 5.11 ERA. He made 27 appearances for the 2020 Rays team that made it to the World Series and had much better success, posting a 2.70 ERA. Fairbanks took on more of a high leverage role in 2021 and 2022, and by 2023 had become the Rays closer, saving 25 of 29 opportunities. He remained the closer in 2024 and 2025, setting a career high with 60.1 innings and 27 saves last season. The Rays declined Fairbanks’ $11 million club option for 2026, allowing him to hit free agency before his age-32 season.
Fairbanks is the ideal remaining closer target for the White Sox
Fairbanks features a fastball that averages over 97 MPH and a slider that sits around 85. He occasionally mixes in a changeup and a cutter, but over 90% of his pitches thrown in 2025 were a fastball or slides, so his usage of a third pitch is negligible. He posted a solid 24.2 K% and 7.4 BB% in 2025, and had an above-average ground-ball rate. His expected ERA of 3.07 was a little bit higher than his actual 2.83 ERA, but not enough to raise any red flags. Overall, Fairbanks has a strong profile that should play in a late-inning role in any bullpen. Seen as a strong clubhouse presence and heavily involved in community service, he'd also be a great veteran leader for a young team
For all he’s done for the Tampa Bay community over the years, Pete Fairbanks is our 2025 Roberto Clemente Award nominee!
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 15, 2025
Vote for Pete: https://t.co/qfPYvB1Epf pic.twitter.com/C5WCwWZEav
Fairbanks has reportedly had heavy interest so far, so the likelihood of the White Sox getting a deal done is not known, but the team certainly has a need in the backend of their bullpen, and Faribanks would provide a reliable veteran presence. Jordan Leasure led the 2025 White Sox with just seven saves, and would be the likely favorite to take on the closer role without an outside upgrade. Chris Getz has declared that the White Sox will be "aggressive in the right areas”, and the bullpen definitely seems like a spot in need of external additions. A proven closer was one of the positions on my Winter Meeting Wishlist earlier this week.
With two more days of the Winter Meetings remaining, we’ll see if Chris Getz and the White Sox can get a deal done, whether it’s for Fairbanks or another option. Stay tuned for all the latest news!