Rays To Be Without Key Reliever

Although it's only Spring Training, the injury bug is already hitting teams all around the league. The Tampa Bay Rays are the latest club to suffer this fate, as manager Kevin Cash has announced that Pete Fairbanks is "going to miss some time" because of right lat tightness. 

With the regular season just around the corner, it certainly isn't a good time to lose Fairbanks. Although a specific timeline has yet to be determined, Cash's comments make it seem that he will be out for a decent chunk of time. Given his importance to their bullpen, this is bad news for the Rays. 

In 47 games last season, Fairbanks sported a 3-6 record, 3.59 ERA, and 56 strikeouts. Overall, he offered them pretty solid stability. Furthermore, he showed in 2020 that he can do even better, as he had a 2.70 ERA in 27 games.

It will be interesting to see how long Fairbanks has to miss because of his current injury. Here's to hoping it ends up being a short-term one, and that he will be back on the mound for the team in no time. 

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