Some contracts are signed in silence… and then unexpectedly become saviors.
At the end of 2023, when Mike Elias signed Albert Suárez on a minor-league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, almost no one paid attention. A 34-year-old pitcher, who had left MLB in 2017 and wandered through Japan and South Korea. It sounded more like a lottery ticket than a solution.
A year later, that lottery ticket yielded 2.7 bWAR.
Suárez threw 133.2 innings with a 3.70 ERA in the 2024 season. Not flashy. No big headlines. But as rotation and bullpen injuries hit one after another, “Big Al” quietly filled the gaps, from one start spot to another multi-inning outing.
And now, the Orioles need the same thing.
His 2025 season was disrupted by a subscapularis strain right after Opening Day. Back in September, he only managed a few games before being shut down due to elbow discomfort. A total of five appearances, ERA 2.31, WHIP 0.943 — too little to draw any conclusions, but enough to show he’s not “running out of gas.”
Baltimore non-tendered him until late 2025… then signed him to another minor-league contract.
A seemingly contradictory decision.
But looking at the 2026 bullpen structure, it starts to make sense.
Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge will lock in the final game. But behind them is a question mark. Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano lack consistency. Rico Garcia and Yaramil Hiraldo have almost no track record. Tyler Wells still needs to rediscover himself. Dietrich Enns is a reliable multi-inning option… but is that enough?
The Orioles don’t lack arms. They lack consistency.
And that’s where Suárez becomes a high-risk, high-reward asset.
In 2024, he’s not a ground-ball machine (GB% only 35.5%). But hitters rarely barrel the ball (7.1%). He throws fastballs in the mid-90s, pitching to contact with controlled control. Not overwhelming, but enough to keep things balanced.
At 36, betting on a recently injured pitcher is never a safe strategy. But Baltimore seems to understand this better than anyone: you never have too much pitching.
Especially when the bullpen is the least proven unit in the current roster.
Maybe Suárez doesn’t need to pitch 140+ innings like in 2024. Maybe the fixed relief role helps him stay healthier. Maybe he’s just depth insurance.
But it’s also possible he’ll become the x-factor again.
Baltimore traded Kade Strowd, further thinning their depth. Prospects like Cade Povich and Brandon Young still have unclear roles. If something unexpected happens in the first two weeks of April, Suárez could go from minor-league invitee back to being the called-up.
That’s not the ideal plan.
But baseball rarely goes according to plan.
The question isn’t what Suárez has accomplished in the past.
It’s: are the Orioles betting too much on the memory of 2024… because they haven’t really built a solid enough bullpen for 2026?
Because sometimes, what worries you most isn’t the 36-year-old pitcher.
It’s that you really need him again. ⚡
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