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TAMPA -- The Rays can officially add a new item to their 2026 to-do list: Filling the Pete Fairbanks -sized hole in their bullpen.

On a busy Thursday of transactions in which they exercised Brandon Lowe’s club option and added another club option to Taylor Walls’ deal, the Rays declined their closer’s $11 million option for next season and paid him a $1 million buyout. Fairbanks is now a free agent.

It wasn’t a decision the Rays made lightly, considering Fairbanks’ impact in their bullpen and the unique personality he brought to Tampa Bay’s clubhouse and community. Acquired in July 2019, he played a part in the Rays’ run of

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