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Baltimore Orioles Pitcher Enters Free Agency After Being Designated for Assignment
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- Baltimore Orioles Pitcher Enters Free Agency After Being Designated for Assignment
(Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images)
The Baltimore Orioles made a change last week, bringing Anthony Nunez back into the bullpen. However, to clear space on the roster the Orioles had to designate right-hander Albert Suarez for assignment for the fourth time this year.
Suarez cleared waivers and had the choice to either accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk or elect free agency. He made his choice on Monday.
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"RHP Albert Suárez elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He was DFA'd by the Orioles again on Saturday," reported Jake Rill of MLB.com .
Even though Suarez has elected free agency, it would not be surprising to see him re-sign on a minor league deal. After all, this is the fourth time he has been removed from the roster this year and he has kept coming back each time. The familiarity with the organization works in both directions.
This year, Suarez has tossed 55 innings and posted a 3.93 ERA. He has collected just 38 strikeouts and issued 19 walks, which is why he occupies more of a fringe roster role and rarely gets the ball in high-leverage situations. He is a reliable depth arm but not someone the Orioles are building around.
Suarez has had an interesting career path to this point. At 36 years old and having pitched in just five big-league seasons, it might appear on paper that he was a late bloomer, but that was not the case.
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He pitched from 2016 to 2017 with the San Francisco Giants as both a starter and reliever before struggling and posting a 4.51 ERA, which led to him spending 2018 in the minor leagues. After that he made the decision to pitch overseas, spending time in both the Korean Baseball Organization and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league.
His success overseas eventually earned him new life with the Orioles in 2024, where he pitched as both a starter and reliever and was solid, posting a 3.70 ERA. Unfortunately, Suarez dealt with multiple major arm issues in 2025 that limited him to just five appearances, and since then his roster security has remained in constant jeopardy.
Suarez could potentially find a new home elsewhere, but it is more likely he signs another deal with Baltimore, the organization that gave him his second chance in MLB and where he has found the most consistent footing of his career.
