Fairbanks (lat) will play catch Saturday, MLB.com reports.
Manager Kevin Cash relayed that Fairbanks is asymptomatic, which clears Fairbanks' path to resume throwing for the first time since landing on the injured list. He's not expected to return until late September.
Rays' Pete Fairbanks: Placed on IL with lat strain
Rotowire
The Rays placed Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a right lat strain.
Fairbanks sustained the injury in Sunday's outing against Arizona, when he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk across 0.2 innings. The full results of his MRI on Monday haven't been announced, but a severe lat strain would likely end the 30-year-old's season. Fairbanks has gone 23-for-27 on save opportunities this year with a 3.57 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 45.1 innings. Colin Poche, Edwin Uceta and Manuel Rodriguez are nominally the favorites to see save opportunities with Fairbanks sidelined, but manager Kevin Cash's deployment of his high-leverage options has been notoriously hard to predict when the Rays haven't had a set closer. Joel Kuhnel was recalled from Triple-A Durham to add depth to Tampa Bay's bullpen.
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Rays' Pete Fairbanks: Likely headed to IL
Rotowire
Fairbanks is expected to be placed on the injured list due to a lat strain, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Fairbanks was hit hard in his last outing Friday and blew a save chance, as he served up three hits and two earned runs. Additional reporting from Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com indicates that Fairbanks will undergo an MRI on his right side Monday, after which he will likely be placed on the injured list. The Rays will likely mix and match the closer role in Fairbanks' absence, though Colin Poche and Manuel Rodriguez have most recently worked in high-leverage roles in the bullpen.
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Rays' Pete Fairbanks: Blows save, collects win
Rotowire
Fairbanks (3-3) blew the save but collected the win Friday against the Diamondbacks. He allowed two runs on three hits and no walks with one strikeout over one inning.
The Rays closer entered the ninth inning Friday on a hot streak, making nine consecutive scoreless appearances since July 4. All that momentum evaporated when Corbin Carroll popped a two-run homer with two outs to tie the game, saddling Fairbanks with his third blown save of the season. The flamethrowing righty sports a 3.02 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 42:16 K:BB across 44.2 innings on the year.
Fairbanks picked up the save Sunday against Baltimore, allowing one hit and no walks with three strikeouts across a scoreless ninth inning.
Fairbanks pounded the strike zone, as 12 of his 14 pitches were strikes. The 30-year-old has racked up eight consecutive scoreless innings, with two hits and no walks allowed during that stretch. He's 23-for-25 in save opportunities this season and has a 2.74 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 42.2 innings.
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Rays' Pete Fairbanks: Secures 22nd save
Rotowire
Fairbanks picked up the save over the Cardinals on Thursday, pitching a perfect ninth inning.
Fairbanks took the mound with a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and retired the side on just eight pitches to lock down his 22nd save of the season. The right-handed reliever has yet to allow a baserunner in three appearances this month, and he's converted his last 12 save opportunities. Fairbanks has surrendered only one hit over his last six innings (six appearances) while posting four strikeouts over that stretch.
