Orioles To Select Albert Suárez

The Orioles will select swingman Albert Suárez onto the big league roster, reports Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. Manager Craig Albernaz confirmed this evening that the O’s expect Zach Eflin to land on the injured list after he left tonight’s start with elbow discomfort.

Suárez will need to be added to the 40-man roster. That’s at capacity, so they’ll either designate someone for assignment or place an injured player on the 60-day injured list. Jordan Westburg is a borderline 60-day IL candidate. Eflin could be as well depending on the results of tomorrow’s MRI. Otherwise, recent DFA trade pickups Johnathan Rodríguez and Jayvien Sandridge probably occupy the final two spots on the 40-man roster.

Dean Kremer seems likely to step into the open rotation spot. Baltimore can operate with a four-man rotation in the interim. Trevor Rogers goes tomorrow opposite Nathan Eovaldi as they look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Rangers. The O’s are off on Thursday before heading to Pittsburgh for a weekend series. They’ll need to replace Eflin in the rotation by next week’s series against the White Sox.

Suárez adds a multi-inning arm to Albernaz’s bullpen. The O’s used three relievers — Dietrich Enns and Rico Garcia for multiple innings — after Chris Bassitt was knocked out by the fifth inning on Monday. Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano, Yaramil Hiraldo and Anthony Nunez all pitched tonight due to Eflin’s fourth-inning injury. Closer Ryan Helsley is their only reliever who hasn’t been called upon yet in the series.

The 36-year-old Suárez will be appearing in his third straight season with the Orioles. He was a nice find out of the KBO and turned in a 3.70 ERA across 133 2/3 innings two years ago. Shoulder and elbow injuries limited him to five appearances and 11 2/3 frames last season.

That cost him his 40-man roster spot at season’s end, but the O’s brought him back on a minor league deal. Suárez had a tough spring, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) with nine strikeouts and five walks through 10 2/3 innings. He began the season with Triple-A Norfolk but hasn’t made an appearance through their first four games.