Calvin

Faucher

It’s a rare loss for a player in the salary arbitration process this offseason after Faucher filed at $2.05 million. The 30-year-old high-leverage arm lost any semblance of fantasy appeal when the Marlins signed veteran stopper Pete Fairbanks to a one-year pact earlier this offseason. He’ll operate in a setup role, which technically gives him some value in holds leagues.

The deal, which was agreed to earlier this week, is now official after the 32-year-old right-hander passed his physical. The contract includes a $1 million signing bonus and Fairbanks will have the potential to pick up an additional $1 million in incentives. He’ll step in as the Marlins primary closer — in place of an injured Ronny Henriquez and over incumbent Calvin Faucher — after recording 75 saves for the Rays over the past three seasons.

That’s a bummer. Henriquez looked like a legitimate closing candidate during a breakthrough 2025, and while we figured the Marlins would acquire a true closer this winter, that they’ve missed out so far had Henriquez shaping up as quite the sleeper. That’s obviously off the table now, so it really is a must that they bring in a couple of quality relief arms. Calvin Faucher is probably the team’s favorite for saves at the moment.

Faucher was called on to close out the game against the Rangers on Saturday with a two-run lead in the ninth inning. He gave up a solo homer to Kyle Higashioka and stranded two more runners before holding on to preserve the win and record his 15th save.

Faucher wasn’t messing around in this one, going right through the heart of the Mets’ lineup. He retired Starling Marte on a fly ball to center, Francisco Lindor on a swinging third strike and Juan Soto on a ground ball to second base to end it, needing just seven pitches (six strikes) to get the job done. He now boasts a 3.35 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 49/21 K/BB ratio over 51 innings on the season while converting 13 of his first 18 save chances.

Fortunately, the Marlins upped their lead from one to two runs in the bottom of the eighth, giving Faucher some margin for error. It’s his first save since Aug. 2, but he’s the pitcher in the Marlins pen worth rostering in 12- or 15-team leagues.

Phillips’ other save came on July 26 against the Brewers. The Marlins have used a number of different relievers in the ninth inning this year, led by Calvin Faucher with 11 saves. It’s easier for fantasy managers to avoid this situation entirely rather than guess how the Marlins might handle the late innings on a given day.

Instead of being held back for a save chance that might not have developed, Faucher was brought into a 1-1 tie tonight. The homer he allowed to Ramírez was hit just 346 feet and would have left only seven ballparks, according to Statcasr. Faucher still seems like the clear favorite for saves in Miami, but Lake Bachar got the team’s lone save last week.

Bender will be away from the club for the next couple days on paternity leave. The 30-year-old righty has locked down three saves this season to go along with a sparkling 2.30 ERA across 47 innings (48 appearances). It’ll continue to be Ronny Hendriquez and Calvin Faucher splitting the closing duties for Miami.

Just when it looked like Calvin Faucher was working his way up to being the Marlins’ preferred closer, he pitched the eighth inning of this game while Bachar took the ninth and nabbed the save. He became the fifth different member of this bullpen to be credited with a save since the All-Star break and was entrusted with the top of the Astros’ order in the ninth inning, dispelling any ideas that Faucher was used earlier for matchup purposes.