Marlins Shelve $13 Million Closer Pete Fairbanks After Disastrous August
Manager Clayton McCullough noted the team will go into each day looking at who is available and lean on guys with experience pitching in different spots.
Pete Fairbanks is hitting the injured list with nerve irritation in his pitching hand, which is a polite medical term for whatever was causing him to throw the baseball everywhere except the strike zone.
The Miami Marlins officially shelved their closer on Tuesday, per MLB Trade Rumors, following a disastrous Monday night meltdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fairbanks left that game with an unusual sensation in his thumb after walking three batters and throwing just nine strikes on 23 pitches.
The nerve issue explains a lot, honestly. You do not just forget how to pitch overnight when you have 95 career saves sitting on your resume. But Fairbanks has been a walking disaster class this month, surrendering 10 runs over his last six innings of work.
When you sign a one-year, $13 million contract to be the highest-paid pitcher on the roster, giving up three earned runs in the ninth inning is a quick way to get booed out of your own zip code. Now, the Marlins have to figure out how to close games while sitting at 67-65 and trying to stay relevant in the National League East.
Manager Clayton McCullough is pivoting to a closer-by-committee approach, leaning on a mix of Calvin Faucher, Michael Petersen, and Josh Ekness. Miami is also recalling left-hander Cade Gibson, who posted a 2.63 ERA out of the pen last season, to take the open roster spot.
If you are looking at the late-game totals for Miami's upcoming matchups against the Boston Red Sox, proceed with caution. The ninth inning for the Marlins is going to be a complete guessing game until someone actually proves they can record three consecutive outs without raising everyone's blood pressure.