Mets Move David Peterson To Bullpen, Sean Manaea To Rotation
The Mets are making a switch in their starting five. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that David Peterson will move to the bullpen. Lefty Sean Manaea will pitch every fifth day in his stead, though the Mets haven’t determined whether he’ll be a traditional starter or pitch bulk innings behind an opener.
It’s the second time this season that Peterson has been bumped to relief. He has started seven of 12 outings, though most of his relief appearances have been as the bulk arm. It did seem briefly that Peterson would be a traditional reliever in late April. Injuries to Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes a few weeks later pushed the southpaw back into the rotation.
Peterson hasn’t found his footing this year. He has a 5.52 earned run average over 53 1/3 innings. The strikeout, walk and ground-ball marks aren’t all that bad, but he has been victimized by a .376 average on balls in play. Peterson also got knocked around in the second half of last season. He hasn’t been able to work deep into games and hasn’t shown any signs of consistency. Peterson gave up six runs on 11 hits and three walks over five innings in a loss to the Reds on Tuesday.
It’s rough timing for the impending free agent. Peterson is playing on an $8.1MM arbitration salary. He entered the season as a multi-year deal candidate but now seems to be trending towards a one-year pillow contract. Peterson came up in some trade chatter over the winter and could move in a change of scenery deal before the deadline regardless of whether the Mets are able to pull out of the hole they’ve dug themselves.
Manaea has made all 12 of his appearances this year from the bullpen. His velocity was down during Spring Training, leading the Mets to move him to long relief. The diminished stuff certainly showed up in his April results. Manaea allowed a 6.55 ERA across 22 innings through the first month-plus. He has performed better of late, striking out 15 while giving up six runs (five earned) over his past 12 innings. He tossed three innings of mop-up work behind Peterson on Tuesday, striking out six while allowing one run.
The veteran lefty is still working with his lowest velocity in years. He has found some extra juice of late, though, averaging 91.4 mph on his fastball in May after sitting below 90 in April. He has added two ticks to a sinker that he’s using more frequently of late.
It certainly hasn’t been dominant form. Manaea is still allowing a .292/.375/.354 slash line in his improved last few weeks. At the same time, it’s inarguable that his more recent results have been better than Peterson’s. He’ll probably be on a short leash and could pitch behind a righty opener like Tobias Myers or Huascar Brazobán to stay away from an opponent’s top hitters the first time through the order. Manaea is in the second season of a three-year, $75MM free agent deal. He struggled to a 5.64 ERA in a half-season last year after an oblique strain shelved him into July.
Manaea’s first start or bulk appearance will likely come on Monday in Seattle. Freddy Peralta took the ball tonight in the series opener against the Marlins, a walk-off win. Christian Scott and Nolan McLean will get the next two games. They used a bullpen game for what would’ve been the fifth starter role on Wednesday, with Jonah Tong taking the plurality of the work (3 2/3 innings).
Dodgers Re-Sign Santiago Espinal
8:08pm: Los Angeles officially announced the moves, as well as yesterday’s placement of Teoscar Hernández on the injured list while recalling Ryan Ward from Triple-A. They opened the 40-man spot by transferring Blake Snell from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. Snell was already expected to be out beyond the All-Star Break after undergoing the NanoScope elbow procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
5:35pm: The Dodgers are re-signing infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal, per Jack Harris of The California Post. Infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim will be optioned in a corresponding active roster move. The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to add Espinal.
Espinal was just nudged off the roster on Monday when Enrique Hernández came off the injured list. A lot has changed since then. Hernández suffered a significant oblique tear and has gone right back on the IL. Teoscar Hernández also hit the IL this week, in his case due to a hamstring strain. Espinal cleared waivers and elected free agency but has now pivoted right back to the Dodgers.
In addition to losing both Hernándezes to the IL, the Dodgers have been watching Kim struggle. His .259/.323/.328 line for the whole year isn’t awful, leading to an 87 wRC+, but his production has been sagging lately. He had a .296/.371/.389 line when the calendar flipped to May but he has a .226/.279/.274 line since then.
Espinal may not provide much more than that, considering he has a .220/.238/.366 line on the year. But perhaps the Dodgers feel the best thing for Kim is to get regular playing time in the minors, as opposed to sitting on the bench. Alex Freeland was recalled when Enrique went back on the IL and should get the bulk of the second base playing time in the near future.
Kim is 27 years old, signed through 2027, with club options for 2028 and 2029. Espinal is 31 and not signed long-term. It therefore makes sense for the Dodgers to think about the long-term plan with Kim, whereas Espinal is more of a short-term stopgap and therefore a better fit for a part-time bench role.
Though Espinal may not provide much with the bat, he can be useful in other ways. He has experience at all four infield spots, as well as the outfield corners, so he can give the Dodgers the flexibility to move guys around as needed.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Giants Reassign Third Base Coach Hector Borg
The Giants announced they’ve reassigned third base coach Hector Borg to a different role in player development. Ron Wotus will handle the role on an interim basis while the team searches for a full-time replacement.
Borg, 40, is an organizational lifer who has been employed by the Giants since 2008. He also managed his native Dominican Republic for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. After nearly two decades working with minor leaguers, Borg was promoted to the MLB staff for the first time last offseason. He had no previous ties to first-year skipper Tony Vitello but is clearly highly regarded in the organization.
Unfortunately, Borg’s time as a third base coach was largely unsuccessful. The Giants have had a handful of runners cut down at home or between second and third base this season. Arguably the worst came on Wednesday, when the Diamondbacks easily nabbed Willy Adames at the plate with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Adames represented the tying run in what would turn out to be a 3-2 loss.
The running game as a whole has been a major issue for the Giants. Statcast grades them alongside the Angels as the worst overall baserunning teams in MLB. Their 14 stolen bases are easily the lowest in the league. That certainly doesn’t all fall on one coach, but it’s clear the Giants felt some kind of change was necessary. A third base coach’s responsibilities go far beyond making the send/hold decision during games, so the Giants will keep Borg around in a player development capacity with which he’s previously had success.
Wotus has ample coaching experience under various Giants managers going back to the 1990s. He retired from full-time coaching after the 2021 season and has spent the past four-plus years in a special assistant role. The 65-year-old seemingly doesn’t want to commit to the daily responsibilities of being a permanent coach but will get back in the dugout as a stopgap. Wotus handled third base coaching for a few days last week while Borg was away from the team to attend a family funeral.
Rockies’ Prospect Ethan Holliday To Undergo Season-Ending Foot Surgery
Rockies top shortstop prospect Ethan Holliday has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He’ll undergo surgery that will end his 2026 season.
Holliday, the son of Matt Holliday and younger brother of Jackson Holliday, was the fourth pick in last year’s draft. The pick was not only a chance for the Rox to add the son of one of the best hitters in franchise history. Holliday had entered his draft year as a candidate to go first overall thanks to his huge left-handed power potential. Some swing-and-miss concerns and skepticism about whether he’ll grow out of shortstop dropped him from the #1 pick but not outside the top five.
The 19-year-old struggled in Low-A to close his draft year. Holliday returned to the level for his first full minor league season and sliced his strikeout rate by more than 10 percentage points. He still struck out at a lofty 28.3% clip but popped nine home runs while batting .292/.395/.557 over 152 plate appearances. Baseball America ranks him the top prospect in the Colorado system. He’s 57th on BA’s overall top 100 list, while MLB Pipeline slots Holliday all the way up at #17.
It’s unfortunately the second straight year in which the Rox’s top pick has suffered an injury early the following year. Charlie Condon, who went #3 overall in 2024, suffered a wrist fracture last spring that cost him a couple months. Condon has come back and reached Triple-A. Holliday isn’t going to move as quickly because he was a high school draftee. The Rox could bump him to High-A to begin the 2027 season, as there’s a decent chance he’d have hit his way to that level this summer if not for the injury.
Tigers Place Casey Mize On Injured List
The Tigers placed Casey Mize back on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 28, with right adductor inflammation. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by reliever Beau Brieske, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. That requires the Tigers to open a spot on the 40-man roster, so they transferred southpaw Brant Hurter to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move.
Mize has been plagued by right groin discomfort in what has otherwise been a strong year. The former first overall pick was diagnosed with an adductor strain in late April and missed around three weeks. He returned on May 16 and looked sharp in his first couple starts. Mize was pitching well on Wednesday but forced to make an exit after four innings with what appeared to be a new groin injury.
That’s evidently the case, though it’s encouraging that this diagnosis was due to inflammation rather than another strain. It’s unlikely it’ll be an extended absence, yet it’s surely an annoyance for Mize and the team that he’ll need to miss another couple starts. He has arguably been the team’s most valuable pitcher this year thanks to the Tarik Skubal injury.
Mize carries a 2.27 earned run average with a career-best 26.5% strikeout rate across 47 2/3 frames. He’s certainly pitching well enough to earn a second straight All-Star appearance if he could stay healthy. Mize is also an impending free agent who’ll be one of the top non-Skubal options on the open market. Although a pair of minor groin issues probably aren’t going to be a huge blow to his value, they add to the various injuries Mize has faced throughout his career.
Detroit enters this weekend’s road series against the White Sox with a 22-35 record. They’re tied with the Angels for worst in the American League. Mize’s injury won’t change the rotation plans for this series. Troy Melton, Framber Valdez and Keider Montero were lined up for the three-game set. They’ll need a new starter for Monday’s series opener in Tampa Bay. There’s a decent chance that’ll be Ty Madden, who is eligible to return from a forearm contusion this weekend. Madden worked 4 1/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Monday and may only need the one minor league tuneup.
Brieske is back to give skipper A.J. Hinch a nine-man bullpen for the weekend. He has been out all season with a left adductor strain. The 28-year-old righty struggled last year while battling ankle and forearm issues. He was a capable middle innings arm from 2023-24.
Hurter is dealing with lumbar spine inflammation. He just went on the IL over the weekend, meaning this transfer rules him out until the second half of July. The 6’6″ southpaw has worked around middling strikeout and walk numbers to manage a 2.84 ERA across 25 1/3 frames.
Giants Place Tyler Mahle On Injured List
The Giants announced they’ve placed starter Tyler Mahle on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The placement, which is retroactive to May 27, opens a spot on the pitching staff for Logan Webb. He returns from the IL to start tonight’s game at Coors Field. San Francisco also activated Jung Hoo Lee from the 10-day IL after optioning fellow outfielder Will Brennan to Triple-A Sacramento last night.
Mahle has had a frustrating year as a $10MM free agent signee. He only has one quality start in his first 11 outings. Mahle has allowed more than six earned runs per nine and has been hit hard in each of his last four times out. He’s striking hitters out at a decent 23% clip, but that belies a modest 8% swinging strike rate. The righty has also given up 11 home runs, a top 10 mark in the National League.
It’s unclear how long Mahle will be sidelined. The injury defers what might’ve been a decision for skipper Tony Vitello on how to handle the starting five. Trevor McDonald has pitched well at the back of the rotation, meaning Mahle and fellow offseason pickup Adrian Houser seemed the better candidates to drop their rotation spot once Webb made it back to the mound.
Webb missed just under three weeks with bursitis in his right knee. Lee, meanwhile, had a minimal stay due to a back strain. He’s in right field tonight against Colorado righty Michael Lorenzen. Rookie outfielder Victor Bericoto was called up when Lee went on the shelf. He’ll stick on the big league roster as a righty-hitting bench bat while the left-handed Brennan goes back to the minors.
Expansion/Stadium Notes: Vancouver, Sacramento, Tampa
It is expected that Major League Baseball will look to expand from 30 to 32 teams at some point in the future. Several cities have been floated as possibilities over the years, including Nashville, Salt Lake City, Portland and Orlando. In recent weeks, Vancouver and Sacramento have thrown their hats into the ring. Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail provided many of the details on the Vancouver situation last month while Evan Drellich of The Athletic amd Maury Brown of Forbes reported on the Sacramento bid this week.
A group led by real estate developer Zack Ross is pushing a Vancouver proposal that seems to have the backing of mayor Ken Sim. City council recently approved a motion directing staff to start a procurement process for the unsolicited bid proposal.
Vancouver is already host to the Canadians, the Single-A affiliate of the Blue Jays. Per Mason’s piece, Ross was asked by that club to look for a spot to build a new stadium. Nat Bailey Stadium, where the Canadians play, was built in 1951. While undergoing that process, he had the idea of potentially pursuing a big league club. The group is targeting a 20-acre plot of city-owned land on the south shore of False Creek. He is now looking for investors. The architecture firm Populous, which designed the Las Vegas Sphere, has put together a stadium rendering.
The piece says that the owners of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers have expressed an interest, as has actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds was born and raised in Vancouver and is already the co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C., as documented in the TV show Welcome to Wrexham, which raised the profile of that club. Jed York, principal owner of the 49ers, is also a co-owner of the football clubs Leeds and Rangers. Mason also mentions the owners of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken as being interested.
It’s hard to tell exactly how much money would be needed for a new club, but it would be a total in the billions. As noted by Drellich, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred threw out a figure of $2.2 billion as a possible expansion fee back in 2021. That was before Steve Cohen bought the Mets for $2.4 billion and José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones agreed to purchase the Padres for $3.9 billion. Presumably, the price has gone up since Manfred made those comments.
The viability of Vancouver as a market is somewhat in debate. As Mason points out, Major League Soccer is looking to move the Whitecaps from Vancouver to an American market, something that might not bode well for investor confidence in the city. Vancouver does support the NHL’s Canucks and got an expansion franchise in the NBA in 1995, but the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001. The Lions have played in the Canadian Football League since 1954. The popularity of baseball in the area can be seen whenever the Blue Jays play in Seattle, as Canadian fans stream across the border for those contests.
Though Vancouver is nowhere near Toronto, most of Canada is considered Blue Jays territory. That doesn’t seem like it will be much of an issue. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro has said the Jays would support a team in Vancouver. “We are supportive of any effort to grow baseball in Canada, and that would include the opportunity to bring MLB to Vancouver,” Shapiro said.
Nicholson-Smith also quotes Manfred, from the 2025 postseason, broadly supporting the idea of a second team in Canada. “There’s no place you’re going to go where you’re not splitting the market,” Manfred said. “I’ve got probably four clubs that think Nashville’s part of their market. I’m not being funny. Literally, they do. So whenever you expand, you’re growing the business, you’ve got another revenue-generating point. You’re going to get a big payment on the way in and one of the things that happens is somebody’s market gets nicked a little bit. So this market, Canada, is no different. The advantages that Canada has is there are places you can go that are distant geographically from Toronto.” The Montreal Expos and the Jays co-existed in MLB for many years, starting with the creation of the Jays in 1977, but the Expos struggled to make that arrangement work. They were moved to Washington in 2005 and became the Nationals.
Geographically, Vancouver is closer to Seattle, but it’s possible the Mariners would be on board. As noted by Tim Booth of The Seattle Times, the Mariners would probably be more concerned about Portland having a team, since they would view that area as part of their current territory. Since Vancouver is seen more as Jays country, the M’s may not be too concerned about a team there, and might even welcome the travel impacts. Seattle is so isolated on the MLB map that they currently have to cover large distances for every road game. A team in Vancouver would lead to a few road games with modest travel, while not dramatically impacting the club’s territorial rights.
Turning to Sacramento, West Sacramento mayor Martha Guerrero announced last week that the city would be pursuing an MLB expansion club. A local real estate developer named Mark Friedman is leading the charge to sell the area as viable for a big league club more permanently. West Sacramento, a distinct city from Sacramento but part of the same metropolitan area, is the temporary home of the Athletics. Ideally, that would give the region proof of concept, but the A’s haven’t drawn especially large crowds to Sutter Health Park.
The group isn’t deterred by that, expressing belief that turnout would be greater if the area had its own team, as opposed to one just passing through. The group doesn’t have a lead investor but claims to already have $800MM in place in terms of land and private investment. They also claim to have access to $1 billion in public money. They are targeting a 50-acre segment of land in West Sacramento, an area that includes Sutter Health Park.
“We may elect to build a new stadium next to the existing stadium, and then tear that one down, or we may choose to tear down the existing stadium and build a new one on the same site,” Friedman said. “We just haven’t gotten to the design part of this, and are waiting until we bring the lead investor on, because that person will undoubtedly want to place their stamp on what the project looks like.” Brown notes that Sacramento natives Dusty Baker and Derrek Lee are involved in the pitch, though the degree of their involvement is not clear.
As a market, Sacramento supports the NBA’s Kings. They also had the Monarchs in the WNBA starting in 1997 but that team folded in 2009. The River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Giants, are the more permanent host club for Sutter Health Park. They are sharing the stadium with the A’s for the 2025 to 2027 seasons while the A’s finish their stadium in Las Vegas. Sutter Health Park and the River Cats are owned by the Kings.
At this point, the possibility of expansion is still fairly theoretical. Manfred has consistently said that he would like the A’s and Rays to figure out long-term stadium plans before expansion could be on the table. The A’s are on track to be in Las Vegas for the start of the 2028 season but the Rays are still in a limbo zone.
The Rays have a lease at Tropicana Field through 2028 but don’t have anything in place beyond that. The new owners are in talks with the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County about a new stadium plan. Per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times, the team and government officials have agreed to a memorandum of understanding about a plan to build a $2.3 billion domed stadium near Raymond James stadium, home of the NFL’s Buccaneers, but the MOU is nonbinding. Per the plan, the county would contribute $796MM and the city $180MM, with the Rays covering the rest as well as any overruns and maintenance. The team will also spend $8 to $10 billion on a mixed-use development to surround the stadium.
It’s unclear if they can get through the next hoops to proceed with the project. As Topkin notes, Tampa city council passed the nonbinding MOU 4-3 but councillor Bill Carlson plans to change his vote for the actual deal. He only voted “yes” on the nonbinding MOU to keep the discussion going for now. If something can’t be worked out in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, it’s expected that a move to Orlando may be pursued.
Drellich notes that MLB would likely prefer that the expansion locations be split with one to the west and one to the east. If that proves to be true, then Vancouver and Sacramento could be competing with each other, as well as with Salt Lake City and Portland.
The current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA expires this coming December 1st and negotiations are ongoing. Expansion is something that would have to be collectively bargained between those two parties and it’s possible that it comes up in those talks. Manfred has said he would like to make progress on that front before his expected departure in January of 2029. On the other hand, there are bigger priorities in those talks and expansion may still be on the backburner until the Rays get a more concrete plan in place.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
Eury Pérez To Miss Eight Weeks With Gracilis Strain
The Marlins announced that right-hander Eury Pérez has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 28th, with a right gracilis strain. His recovery will last eight weeks, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Fellow righty Josh Ekness has been recalled to take his roster spot. The Fish also reinstated infielder Leo Jimenez from the seven-day concussion-related IL and optioned infielder Graham Pauley.
Pérez tossed four shutout innings against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Wednesday but did not come out for the fifth. As seen in this video from MLB.com, he was stretching in the dugout when he suddenly became visibly overwhelmed with pain. He had to be helped down into the tunnel. After the game, he told De Nicola that his pain was initially a ten out of ten, but had dropped to a seven. He was set to undergo imaging, which apparently found this strain of his gracilis, which is part of the thigh.
It’s the latest blow to the Miami rotation, which has seen its once-vaunted starting depth evaporate. The Marlins felt good enough about their stock of starters that they traded both Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in the offseason. Those moves allowed the Fish to acquire Owen Caissie and various prospects. The hope was that they would still have plenty of arms. They began the season with Pérez, Sandy Alcantara, Max Meyer, Chris Paddack and Janson Junk in the rotation, with Braxton Garrett, Robby Snelling, Thomas White and others in Triple-A.
In early May, they gave up on Paddack. He was designated for assignment and landed with the Reds. Snelling was called up to take his rotation spot but then Snelling suffered a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament after just one start in the big leagues. He underwent internal brace surgery and will miss the rest of the year. Garrett was then called up to replace Snelling but Garrett’s two starts resulted in just 4 1/3 innings with seven earned runs allowed. He was optioned back down to the minors after that. White hasn’t been an option because he landed on the minor league IL a couple of weeks ago.
With Pérez now out, the Fish are basically down to Alcantara, Meyer and Junk from their season-opening group. Tyler Phillips, who has been working a multi-inning relief role, made a start on Sunday. He went 3 2/3 innings and is listed as the probable starter for tomorrow’s game, so perhaps he’ll stick in the rotation for now. Meyer is taking the ball tonight and Junk on Sunday, followed by Alcantara on Monday. By Tuesday, they’ll need to figure something else out, whether that’s a spot starter or bullpen game.
Garrett was only optioned nine days ago. Pitchers need to wait 15 days after being optioned before they can be recalled, unless they directly replace someone else going on the IL. Dax Fulton, Ryan Gusto and Bradley Blalock are on the 40-man roster and pitching in Triple-A, though Fulton has a 6.17 ERA in Triple-A this year and Blalock is at 5.44. Gusto has a more palatable 4.01 at Triple-A this year, though he has a 5.61 ERA in his big league career.
Time will tell how the Marlins proceed but it’s a rough situation for them. They are 26-31 on the year, putting them five games back of a playoff spot. There’s still lots of time to climb in the standings but that will be hard to do with the pitching staff so banged up.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
MLB Announces One-Game Suspension For Abner Uribe
Major League Baseball announced that right-hander Abner Uribe has been given a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his inappropriate actions towards the Cardinals’ dugout during the top of the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game at American Family Field. Uribe is appealing, so the suspension is held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete.
The incident occurred after Uribe struck out Alec Burleson, as seen in this footage from MLB.com, which also includes comments from manager Pat Murphy and Uribe himself. After striking out Burleson, Uribe turned towards the away dugout and performed a gesture that will be familiar to wrestling fans of a certain era.
Murphy was visibly unpleased at the time and later called the situation unacceptable. Uribe, through a Spanish-language translator, apologized to various people with the Brewers. But he didn’t apologize to the Cardinals and actually condemned St. Louis manager Oli Marmol, implying Marmol had threatened Milwaukee hitters with bean balls.
It’s not the first time Uribe has been suspended for an on-field situation. The Brewers and Rays got into a brawl in 2024, with Uribe and Jose Siri at the center of it. Uribe received a six-game suspension for that, though it was later reduced to four games on appeal.
When a player is suspended for an on-field infraction, the team cannot replace him on the roster. If Uribe’s suspension is upheld or he drops his appeal, the Brewers will have to play a man short for one game. For a suspension this short, it’s possible that Uribe will drop the appeal prior to a game that he wasn’t going to be available for regardless, perhaps after pitching a few days in a row.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
Orioles Re-Sign Albert Suárez
3:20pm: The O’s have officially announced their singing of Suarez. To open a 40-man spot, righty Dean Kremer was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Kremer has been on the IL since April 20th due to a right quad strain and his 60-day count is retroactive to that date. He will therefore be eligible for reinstatement in about three weeks. He hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment and is presumably not close to returning.
1:45pm: Right-hander Albert Suarez elected free agency yesterday after the Orioles passed him through waivers unclaimed, but he’s predictably lined up to rejoin the team in short order. Suárez is already back in the Orioles’ clubhouse, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, and the team is expected to finalize a new contract with him and option righty Cameron Weston to Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. That suggests it’ll be a big league deal for Suárez, who’d be available out of the ‘pen for tonight’s game.
As was the case following his last DFA in Baltimore, Suárez near-immediately returns on a new contract. He’s out of minor league options, but both he and the Orioles seem content with an arrangement similar to the one between the Braves and Carlos Carrasco (profiled here earlier today). Effectively, Suárez is something of a 41st man on Baltimore’s 40-man roster. The team will probably continue to add him to the big league roster, DFA him, pass him through waivers, and re-sign him as needed. It’s feasible that another team would claim Suárez at some point, but the O’s could always bake in some friendly terms that make the right-hander likelier to clear.
The 36-year-old Suárez has a 2.75 ERA in 19 2/3 innings with the O’s this season but just a 12.3% strikeout rate and an ugly 11.1% walk rate. His run-prevention numbers have been buoyed by a .186 average on balls in play and 9.2% homer-to-flyball rate, both of which (particularly the former) are likely to regress.
This year’s so-so numbers notwithstanding, Suárez has been an important contributor in Baltimore since returning from a half decade pitching overseas (three years in Japan, two in South Korea). He’s piled up 165 innings in two-plus seasons as an Oriole, logging a 3.49 ERA, 18.6% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Most of that work came in 2024; shoulder and elbow injuries combined to limit Suárez to 11 2/3 MLB frames last year. He’s already surpassed that mark in 2026 despite the multiple DFAs.
Since Suárez is out of options and amenable to the on-and-off-the-roster setup the Orioles appear to be using here, there’s a good chance he’ll once again be designated for assignment when the O’s need a fresh arm. The cycle will likely repeat itself at that point, with Suárez passing through waivers, returning on a new deal, and so on. It’s a more tumultuous path than most big leaguers traverse, but Suárez has already picked up 40 days of big league service and pay this season — players accrue service/salary while in DFA limbo — so it’s still a pretty lucrative one, especially for a 36-year-old with fewer than four years of service under his belt.