Orioles Designate Albert Suarez, Option Tyler Wells
The Orioles announced four roster moves this morning, including the news that right-hander Albert Suarez has been designated for assignment. Righty Tyler Wells was also optioned to Triple-A, while left-hander Nick Raquet was called up from Triple-A. Left-hander Dietrich Enns was also activated from the 15-day injured list.
Perhaps the most intriguing transaction is still to come, as The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka reported earlier today that top pitching prospect Trey Gibson is joining the team in New York. Gibson is on the Orioles’ taxi squad for now, but he could be officially selected to make his MLB debut in a start tomorrow at Yankee Stadium.
This is second time in a week that the O’s have designated Suarez. The righty’s first trip through DFA limbo saw him clear waivers, elect free agency over an outright assignment, and then quickly re-sign with Baltimore on a new minor league contract. That new deal was then promptly selected back to the 26-man roster yesterday when Ryan Helsley was placed on the 15-day IL, and Suarez threw 2 2/3 innings in Friday’s 7-2 Orioles loss to the Yankees.
Wells also threw 25 pitches over 1 1/3 innings of relief work yesterday, so today’s moves are largely about getting some fresh arms into the bullpen with the O’s having a quick turn-around of an afternoon game after Friday’s night game. Between Wells’ work last night and his two remaining minor league options, he was a logical candidate to be sent down on paper, even if the move is a surprise given how the righty has been both pitching well and something of a roster fixture.
Wells has a 3.44 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, and 5.3% walk rate over 18 1/3 relief innings this season. After working mostly as a regular starter in 2022-23, Wells missed most of the next two seasons due to a UCL surgery, and the Orioles chose to deploy him as a multi-inning reliever this year since their rotation was full.
The option means that Wells has to spend a minimum of 15 days at Triple-A before he is eligible to be recalled, unless Baltimore has another injury vacancy in the interim. Given how the Orioles have been bitten hard by the injury bug this year, it’s probably safe to assume that Wells will be back in the Show before that 15-day span is up.
Another swift reunion between Suarez and the O’s also can’t be ruled out, assuming Suarez clears waivers again. Suarez could again decline an outright assignment and test the open market just to weigh his options, or Suarez and the Orioles may have a handshake agreement already in place to bring the righty back on another minors deal in due course.
Enns returns to action after a foot infection kept the southpaw on the IL for almost a month. Enns rejoins a Baltimore pen that now has an equal amount of lefties and righties, as Enns and Raquet join Keegan Akin and Grant Wolfram as the left-handed contingent of the relief mix. Even with Enns activated, the Orioles still have seven other pitchers and 11 total players on their swollen injured list.
Cardinals Trade Nick Raquet To Orioles
Today: The Orioles have announced the trade and activated Raquet. Brandon Young has been optioned to Triple-A. To make space for Raquet on their 40-man roster, Baltimore transferred Eflin to the 60-day IL. Elbow discomfort forced Eflin to make an early exit during his season debut on March 31, and he is going for a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister later today. At the very least, he will now miss April and May.
April 6, 9:27 pm: Baltimore is sending minor league outfielder Brayden Smith to St. Louis in return, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The lefty-hitting Smith was the O’s 13th-round pick last year after spending one season at Oklahoma State. He hit .200 with one home run while drawing 12 walks in 16 games at Low-A Delmarva to begin his pro career.
April 6, 9:08 pm: The Orioles are acquiring reliever Nick Raquet from the Cardinals, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. St. Louis designated the lefty for assignment yesterday. Baltimore will need to create a 40-man roster spot once the trade is final; Heston Kjerstad and Zach Eflin are potential 60-day injured list candidates.
Raquet debuted last September and tossed two scoreless appearances of one inning apiece. That’s the entirety of the 30-year-old lefty’s big league experience to date. Raquet held his spot on the 40-man roster over the offseason but was optioned early in Spring Training. He has worked three innings of one-run ball with a trio of strikeouts for Triple-A Memphis to begin the season.
It has been a long climb to the big leagues for Raquet. The 6’0″ hurler was a third-round pick by the Nationals out of William & Mary in 2017. He never made it beyond A-ball in the Washington system and was released in 2020. Raquet was out of baseball for a few seasons before turning independent and Dominican Winter League work into a new minor league opportunity with St. Louis in 2024.
Raquet spent most of last season in the upper levels of the minor leagues. He combined for a 2.24 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate over 52 1/3 frames, excelling in Double-A before struggling at the top minor league level. He’s a slider specialist whose breaking ball sits in the 82-84 mph range. Raquet’s fastball only lands around 90-91, but he has a full slate of minor league options and can head to Triple-A Norfolk.
Cardinals Select Jared Shuster
The Cardinals are selecting the contract of left-hander Jared Shuster, as relayed by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Lefty Nick Raquet was designated for assignment in the corresponding move, while right-hander Chris Roycroft was optioned to the minor leagues.
Shuster, 27, was once a first-round pick by Atlanta back in 2020. He made his big league debut in 2023 to some fanfare, although he ultimately struggled with a lackluster 5.81 ERA and 5.38 FIP in 11 starts for the Braves that year. Shuster was traded to the White Sox as part of the Aaron Bummer deal prior to the 2024 season, and with the White Sox he pitched primarily out of the bullpen. Across two years in Chicago, Shuster posted a 4.96 ERA with a 4.30 FIP in 89 innings split between six starts and 45 relief outings. His numbers were even lackluster at Triple-A, and Shuster eventually found himself designated for assignment and outrighted off the roster. He posted a 6.94 ERA in 35 Triple-A innings last year between the White Sox and Athletics organizations.
Headed into 2026, Shuster signed with the Cardinals on a minor league deal but was unable to secure a spot on the roster during Spring Training after surrendering five runs in five innings of work throughout camp. Shuster has made just one appearance at Triple-A Memphis since then, where he surrendered four runs on five hits (including a home run) in three innings of work. Lackluster as his results have been at all levels in recent times, however, the Cardinals have still opted to turn to him as a short-term innings eater for their bullpen.
Making room for Shuster on the 40-man roster is Raquet, a 30-year-old lefty who made his big league debut for the Cardinals last year. He threw two scoreless innings in the majors but struggled at Triple-A last year, with a 5.19 ERA across 17 1/3 innings of work. While Raquet both posted decent enough numbers during Spring Training and at Triple-A so far this year, that wasn’t enough to hold onto his roster spot. The Cardinals will now have one week to either trade Raquet or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed by the rest of the league, the former third-round pick by the Nationals can be outrighted to the minors as non-roster depth for St. Louis for the remainder of the 2026 campaign.
As for Roycroft, the righty has cobbled together 58 2/3 innings of work for the Cardinals in an up-and-down relief role over the past three seasons. He’s struggled to a 5.98 ERA in those outings, but as an optionable relief arm who’s still on the right side of 30 he could continue getting chances when the Cardinals bullpen needs an extra arm throughout the year. For now, he’ll head to Triple-A (where he has a career ERA of 3.85) to await his next opportunity in the big leagues.
Cardinals Expected To Designate Garrett Hampson For Assignment
The Cardinals are expected to designate utility man Garrett Hampson for assignment in a series of roster moves slated to become official tomorrow, according to a report from Katie Woo of The Athletic. Hampson’s active roster spot will go to Alec Burleson, who is slated to be activated from the injured list tomorrow. Hampson’s 40-man roster spot will go to left-hander Nick Raquet, who will have his contract selected to the major league roster tomorrow. Raquet will take the 40-man spot of right-hander Andre Granillo, who is expected to be optioned to Triple-A.
Hampson, 31 next month, opened the season as a member of the Diamondbacks after signing with the club on a minor league deal during the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster but ultimately appeared in just 18 games for the club before being designated for assignment in early May. Later that month, he was signed by the Reds to a major league deal and stuck with the organization until late June, when he was designated for assignment once again and plucked off waivers by the Cardinals.
Hampson was hitting just .167/.310/.188 across 24 games in the majors this year when he arrived in St. Louis, and his offense hasn’t really improved during his ten weeks with the organization. In fact, they’ve trended in the wrong direction, as he’ll finish his Cardinals career with a .103/.133/.138 slash line across 31 plate appearances. Hampson got less work at the dish in with St. Louis than he did with Arizona and Cincinnati, but he did actually end up appearing in more games due to his role as a defensive replacement and pinch runner late in games. He appeared in all three outfield spots for the Cardinals during his tenure with the organization and also played second base, third base, and shortstop.
That versatility has generally been Hampson’s calling card over the years. While he’s a career .235/.298/.353 hitter in spite of his offensive numbers being inflated by five years at Coors Field, he’s managed to generally stay in the majors thanks to his value as a versatile bench player. Prior to his three-team tour around the National League this year, he had played for the Marlins and Royals since leaving Colorado. Going forward, the Cardinals will have seven days after the move becomes official to try and pass Hampson through waivers. Perhaps he’ll be claimed by a team in need of bench depth down the stretch, but if he clears waivers he’ll have the option to either accept an outright assignment to Triple-A for the final few weeks of the season or elect free agency.
Hampson’s departure makes room for the return of Burleson, who last played on August 28 due to a bout of wrist inflammation. Burleson has enjoyed something of a breakout season with the Cardinals this year, as the 26-year-old has hit a solid .286/.337/.451 with 16 home runs in just 122 games. That’s far and away the best triple slash of his career, and while that won’t be enough to push the Cardinals into the postseason this year Burleson figures to once again split time between first base, DH, and the outfield corners with St. Louis next season.
As for Raquet, the 29-year-old lefty will actually be making his big league debut if he gets into a game with the Cardinals. A third-round pick by the Nationals all the way back in 2017, Raquet worked in the lower minors with the Nationals through the end of the 2019 season but fell off the map after the canceled minor league season in 2020 before resurfacing as a professional in the independent Atlantic League back in 2023. He posted a 3.71 ERA in 24 starts with the York Revolution that year, and caught on with the Cardinals on a minor league deal last season.
Raquet has been working his way up the minor league ladder ever since, and now that he’s posted a 1.68 ERA between Double- and Triple-A as a reliever for the Cardinals this year he’ll get the opportunity to show what he can do at the big league level. As for Granillo, the rookie right-hander has just 14 MLB appearances under his belt while working as a multi-inning reliever, with a 4.71 ERA in 21 innings of work. He’ll head to Triple-A, where he has a sterling 1.50 ERA in 24 outings, to wait for his next big league opportunity to arrive.