Orioles Pitcher With 3.93 ERA Elects Free Agency
The right-hander cleared outright waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles announced.
It's the second time this year Suarez has gone through this exact sequence, and the fourth time he's been designated for assignment by Baltimore in 2026 alone.
A Season Built Entirely On This Cycle
The pattern has repeated itself with almost comic regularity.
Suarez was first designated for assignment in late April, cleared waivers, and elected free agency before quickly re-signing with Baltimore on a new minor league deal.
He was DFA'd again within days of returning, this time accepting an outright assignment to Norfolk, before working his way back to the majors in mid-May. He caught yet another DFA at the end of that month, again elected free agency, and again returned on a fresh contract.
RHP Albert Suárez elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) August 24, 2026
He was DFA’d by the Orioles again on Saturday.
That stretch of stability lasted almost three months before Friday's DFA, his fourth of the season, arrived after he'd pitched in three of the previous five days, including a 36-pitch outing just one day earlier.
Across all the transactions, Suarez has thrown 55 innings over 25 appearances this season, posting a 3.93 ERA.
The underlying numbers suggest the results have outpaced the process, with an 8.3 percent walk rate that's solid, but a 16.5 percent strikeout rate and a 30.8 percent ground-ball rate that both rank as subpar.
A .259 opponents' batting average on balls in play has likely helped keep runs off the board, and his 4.40 FIP and 4.62 SIERA both suggest that kind of luck may not hold.
Why Baltimore Keeps Bringing Him Back
Suarez, 36, has become an unusual but pretty valuable piece of Baltimore's pitching staff since returning to affiliated ball following five seasons pitching overseas in Japan and South Korea.
He's compiled 165 innings with a 3.49 ERA across parts of three seasons as an Oriole, most of that production coming during a strong 2024 campaign before shoulder and elbow issues limited him to just 11.2 innings last year.
Albert Suárez elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. #orioles
— Roch Kubatko (@RochXrk) August 24, 2026
Being out of minor league options is part of what's made this cycle possible in the first place.
Given the pattern established over the rest of the season, a swift return to Baltimore looks like the most likely outcome once again.
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