Fairbanks worked one inning in a simulated game Tuesday, throwing 21 pitches, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Fairbanks got 14 of his offerings into the strike zone while facing Nate Lowe, Kevan Smith and Daniel Robertson and working with Mike Zunino as his battery mate. The 26-year-old right-hander had a rough go of it in 2019 with both the Rangers (9.35 ERA across eight appearances) and Rays (5.11 ERA in 13 outings), but he'd made a strong case this spring for an Opening Day roster spot with five scoreless, four-hit innings across five appearances and a 10:3 K:BB. With the remainder of Grapefruit League play cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, it remains to be seen if he built a strong enough case to stick on the Opening Day roster.