Orioles Pitcher Elects Free Agency After Posting 2.75 ERA
This marks the second time Suarez has gone through this exact sequence in 2026.
The first designation came in late April.
He cleared waivers, declined the outright assignment to Norfolk because a previous outright on his resume gave him the right to do so, and elected free agency.
RHP Albert Suárez cleared outright waivers and elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) May 28, 2026
He then quickly re-signed with Baltimore on a new minor league contract.
He was selected back to the active roster, pitched well, was DFA'd again within five days, accepted the outright that time, spent a couple of weeks in Norfolk, was selected back to the big league roster last Tuesday, and is now designated for assignment and free again for the second time.
The Orioles have now DFA'd Suarez three times in under a month.
Through all of it, his big league results have actually been very solid.
He carries a 2.75 ERA across 19.2 innings across his multiple call-up stints this season, functioning as a long man who can eat innings when the Baltimore rotation is stretched.
The surface numbers are a bit misleading in one important direction, however.
He has struck out just 12.3 percent of batters, walked 11.1 percent, and benefited from a .186 batting average on balls in play that is almost certainly not sustainable.
His profile is a contact-heavy pitcher surviving on balls finding gloves rather than a pitcher missing bats, which explains why Baltimore has been comfortable moving him in and out of the equation without hesitation.
Albert Suárez cleared waivers and decided to test free agency rather than accept a minor league assignment.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) May 28, 2026
He’s taken this route and re-signed with the Orioles before, but at least for now he’s free to sign with any club.
Despite the repeated cycle, the expectation around the league is that Suarez will re-sign with Baltimore again in short order, the same way he did after the first free agency election.
He has provided useful organizational depth across three seasons in the Baltimore system since returning from Asia, where he spent five years pitching in South Korea and Japan before signing his original Orioles minor league deal.
Since joining the organization in 2024, he has given them 161 innings of 3.58 ERA ball split between 25 starts and 18 relief appearances.
Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
