The Orioles are bringing Albert Suárez back into the fold on a minor league contract, according to Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner, and the right-hander is headed to Triple-A Norfolk.
Suárez had just elected free agency earlier in the week after his latest DFA, but Baltimore moved quickly to reunite with him. The 36-year-old has bounced on and off the major league roster several times this season, and he had been working out of the big league bullpen since the end of May.
In 25 appearances, Suárez logged 55 innings and posted an earned run average a little under 4.00, even with a modest 16.5% strikeout rate. He’s now in his third season with the Orioles organization, and his most productive stretch came in 2024, when he held a rotation spot for most of the year and finished with a 3.70 ERA over 133 2/3 innings.
His 2025 season has been much more stop-and-start. Injuries kept him out for most of the year, and Baltimore designated him, then brought him back on a minor league deal over the winter. A few days into the season, he was back on the MLB roster, this time in relief.
There’s still a question about how the Orioles will use him once he’s at Norfolk. Suárez has made only two appearances there this season, both starts, but he hasn’t gone more than two innings in a major league outing since the beginning of July. Baltimore could choose to keep him in a shorter relief role instead of stretching him back out as a starter with just three weeks left in the Triple-A season.
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Suarez has become one of those familiar depth arms the Orioles keep circling back to when they need coverage on the mound, and his latest deal reflects that value in a more tangible way. He has pitched in 25 major league games for Baltimore this year with a 3.93 ERA, and the new contract also gives him improved financial terms along with an upward mobility clause, a sign the club still sees a path for him beyond the usual roster churn. [Read more 🡒]
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