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Wander Suero

Braves Select Hayden Harris, Designate Wander Suero

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The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed pitching prospect Hayden Harris from Triple-A Gwinnett. Righty Hunter Stratton was optioned and righty Wander Suero was designated for assignment in a pair of corresponding moves. Atlanta also added infielder Ha-Seong Kim, whom they claimed off waivers from the Rays, to the active roster. Jurickson Profar heads to the paternity list to clear an active roster spot for Kim.

An undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern in 2022, Harris is a Georgia native who has gone from off the prospect radar entirely to a dominant bullpen arm in the upper minors. He posted mid-4.00 ERAs in 2023 and 2024, his first two full professional seasons, but has erupted with a 0.56 ERA in 48 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. In 48 innings, he’s fanned an outrageous 41% of his opponents against a manageable 9% walk rate.

Harris doesn’t have eye-popping velocity, averaging just 91.7 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A. He’s still posted a huge 14% swinging-strike rate in the minors this year. MLB.com ranks him 27th among Braves prospects, noting that he’s a pure relief prospect without overpowering stuff but nevertheless misses bats with his heater due to a deceptive delivery and plus carry on the pitch.

This is Harris’ first addition to the big league roster. He’ll have a full slate of options heading into the 2026 season and can be controlled for at least six full years. He’ll give Atlanta another intriguing left-handed option to pair with Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee and Dylan Dodd, all of whom have pitched to sub-4.00 ERAs this season when healthy. (Bummer is currently on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.)

Suero, 33, has spent the bulk of his career with the division-rival Nationals but began to bounce around in journeyman fashion in recent years. He gave the Nats 142 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball (3.73 SIERA) from 2018-20 but has struggled since, tossing a combined 57 MLB frames with a 7.11 ERA between the Nats, Dodgers, Astros and now Braves. He’s also had a minor league stint with the Angels along the way.

Suero has had a terrific season in Gwinnett, posting a 1.35 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate in 46 2/3 innings. That won’t be enough to keep him on the 40-man roster, however, and he’ll now head to outright waivers in the coming days. Any team that claims Suero would be able to control him for two additional seasons in arbitration, as the 15 days of big league service Atlanta has given him this season was exactly enough to push him up to four years of service time. Suero is optionable for the remainder of this season but will be out of minor league options in 2026.

Braves Release Erick Fedde, Place Aaron Bummer On 15-Day IL

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The Braves announced that right-hander Erick Fedde has been released, and that left-hander Aaron Bummer was placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.  Right-handers Wander Suero and Hunter Stratton were called up from Triple-A in corresponding roster moves.

It was just under a month ago that Fedde came to Atlanta in a trade with the Cardinals, with St. Louis covering Fedde’s remaining salary (roughly $2.7MM) for the slight return of cash considerations or a player to be named later.  The Cards wanted to move an impending free agent in order to create more room in their rotation for younger pitchers, while the Braves just needed a fresh arm to cover innings in the wake of a swath of injuries to their starting pitching.

Unfortunately for Fedde and the Braves, the move didn’t work out.  Fedde posted an 8.10 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in Atlanta, with an equal number (13) of walks and strikeouts over his five appearances.  This gives Fedde a 5.76 ERA over 125 combined innings with St. Louis and Atlanta during the 2025 season, and a particularly glaring 10.32 ERA in his last 41 innings of work.

Cal Quantrill was claimed off waivers from the Marlins earlier this week in the Braves’ latest attempt at finding rotation help, which took Fedde out of a starting role.  Though Atlanta could have designated Fedde for assignment, the straight release probably just streamlines the process and allows Fedde to reach the open market in a bit quicker fashion.

As extreme as Fedde’s recent struggles have been, it is possible he lands elsewhere before the 2025 season is over just because teams are forever in need of pitching depth.  It was just a season ago, of course, that Fedde returned from a one-season sojourn in the KBO League to post a very solid 3.30 ERA over 177 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Cardinals in 2024.  Another team might be interested in seeing if Fedde can recapture any of that form, and Fedde would surely love to end his season on some kind of a high note.

The seriousness of Bummer’s shoulder issue isn’t known, but since the Braves are out of the race, it is possible the southpaw could be shut down for the remainder of the season.  Bummer has a 3.81 ERA, a solid 7.6% walk rate, and a below-average 21.6% strikeout rate over 54 1/3 relief innings for Atlanta this season, with that K% a marked step down from the 29.3% rate Bummer posted from 2020-24.  Bummer’s 53.9% groundball rate is also a career low but still elite in relation to the rest of the league, which speaks to the left-hander’s prominence as one of the baseball’s top grounder specialists.

Braves Select Wander Suero

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The Braves announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Wander Suero. To make room for Suero on the 40-man and active rosters, right-hander Michael Petersen was designated for assignment while right-hander Daysbel Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A.

Suero, 33, is being called up to pitch in his seventh major league season. He made his big league debut with the Nationals back in 2018 and enjoyed a solid three-year run where he pitched to a 4.10 ERA (108 ERA+) with a 3.20 FIP and a 26.1% strikeout rate across 142 2/3 innings of work from 2018 to 2020. That stretch included D.C.’s 2019 World Series championship, for which Suero was on the postseason roster and made three scoreless appearances during the World Series. Unfortunately, the good times came to an abrupt halt in 2021 as he turned in a brutal 6.33 ERA with a FIP of 5.80 in 45 appearances.

It was a bad enough performance that he was non-tendered by Washington during the 2021-22 offseason, and in the years since then Suero has largely been relegated to work in the minor leagues. He’s pitched for the Angels, Dodgers, Astros, and Braves in the upper minors over the past four seasons, and though he made it to the majors in both Los Angeles and Houston he sports a lackluster 7.88 ERA across six appearances. Despite that lackluster recent track record, Suero has looked nothing short of excellent at Triple-A Gwinnett for the Braves this year with a 1.50 ERA in 36 innings to go along with a 33.6% strikeout rate. He’ll now get the opportunity to show himself to be a capable big league relief arm once again in a Braves bullpen that could certainly use reinforcements, especially ahead of a trade deadline where rental arms Raisel Iglesias and Pierce Johnson could be dangled.

Making room for Suero on the roster is Petersen, who has made four appearances for the Braves this year. The 31-year-old made his MLB debut last year and pitched for the Dodgers and Marlins before joining Atlanta. He has a 5.47 ERA in 26 1/3 innings of work over the past two seasons to go with a career 2.84 ERA at the Triple-A level. It’s a solid enough resume that, when combined with the fact that Petersen has minor league options remaining, it wouldn’t be a shock if he winds up plucked off waivers by a rival club. Atlanta will have one week to either trade Petersen or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, they’ll have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues as non-roster depth. Hernandez, meanwhile has been nothing short of excellent for the Braves over the past two seasons with a 2.25 ERA and 3.10 FIP, but has struggled to stay on the big league roster due to being one of only a few bullpen arms at Atlanta’s disposal with minor league options remaining. He’ll surely be back up with the big league club at some point this season.

Braves Sign Wander Suero To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed right-hander Wander Suero to a minor league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The Rep 1 Baseball client will presumably receive an invite to major league spring training as well.

Suero, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Astros last winter. He was selected to the roster in April but was outrighted off the roster after just one appearance. He spent most of the year in Triple-A and had a good performance. He tossed 67 2/3 innings for the Space Cowboys, allowing 2.66 earned runs per nine. He was surely helped by a .238 batting average on balls in play and 85.8% strand rate, but his 24.8% strikeout rate was a strong mark.

He does have some experience as an effective major league reliever, though it’s been a few years now. He tossed 142 2/3 innings for the Nationals over the 2018 through 2020 seasons with a 4.10 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. He earned one save and 27 holds for the Nats in that time. But his ERA jumped to 6.33 in 2021 and he was non-tendered after that season.

Over the past three years, he’s mostly been limited to minor league work, with only six big league appearances in that stretch. But he had a 3.45 ERA in his 141 Triple-A innings for that time frame, striking out 23.1% of batters faced while walking 10.8%.

Atlanta might have a tight budget this offseason and the bullpen needs addressing. A.J. Minter, Jesse Chavez and John Brebbia just became free agents and Joe Jiménez recently underwent knee surgery that could keep him on the injured list for the entire 2025 season. Suero gives them a bit of extra non-roster depth and still has one option year remaining. That roster flexibility could work in his favor when it comes to getting a spot next year.

10 Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

Outfielders

Pitchers

Astros Outright Wander Suero

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Astros right-hander Wander Suero went unclaimed on outright waivers following his recent DFA and has been assigned to Houston’s Triple-A affiliate, per the Astros’ transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll have the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, both by virtue of his big league service time (more than three years) and by the fact that he’s previously been outrighted in his career.

The 32-year-old Suero appeared in just one game and faced only one hitter with the Astros prior to his DFA. The veteran righty inked a minor league deal with Houston over the winter, was summoned to the big leagues to add a fresh arm to a beleaguered bullpen, and wound up surrendering a walkoff single to Salvador Perez in his lone outing as an Astro. It’s possible he’ll stick around as a depth option.

Suero had made five appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land before being called up. He tossed five innings of two-run ball, punching out five hitters without issuing a walk. That’s a solid start to building off what was a strong performance at the Triple-A level last season. Suero pitched 47 times for the Dodgers’ top affiliate in 2023, turning in a 3.26 ERA with an above-average 25.9% strikeout rate in the Pacific Coast League.

That earned him a few scattered looks at Dodger Stadium, although the vast majority of his big league time has come with Washington. Suero pitched for the Nationals from 2018-21, including 78 appearances for the World Series team in 2019. Suero posted a sub-4.00 ERA in two of his first three seasons but stumbled to a 6.33 mark in 42 2/3 frames in 2021. That kicked off a nomadic phase of his career that has bounced him between the Angels, Dodgers and Astros systems.

Astros To Select Joel Kuhnel

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The Astros are going to add right-hander Joel Kuhnel to their roster, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to relay the news. Left-hander Parker Mushinski will be optioned to open an active roster spot while Wander Suero has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot, per Rome.

The Astros haven’t had an off-day since last Thursday and their bullpen has been getting heavy use of late. On Monday, the injury of Framber Valdez led to the club sending out Blair Henley to make his major league debut, but he couldn’t make it out of the first inning. Cristian Javier had a fine start on Tuesday but then Spencer Arrighetti made his major league debut on Wednesday and was only able to log three innings. Then Hunter Brown was pummelled yesterday, allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits while only recording two outs.

Amid all of that, the relievers have had to grind through innings, which included Mushinski throwing 54 pitches over 2 2/3 on Wednesday. He was likely looking at being down for a few days after that so the club has optioned him out for a fresh arm.

Kuhnel, 29, has 83 2/3 innings of big league experience. Most of that was with the Reds, though he joined the Astros in a cash deal in June of last year. His 6.02 earned run average for his career is obviously not impressive, nor is his 19.3% strikeout rate, though there are some more encouraging numbers to look at. His fastball averages in the mid-90s, he’s limited walks to a 6.5% clip and he’s been able to keep 52.5% of balls in play on the ground.

The Astros designated him for assignment in January and the righty elected free agency but the Astros brought him back via a minor league deal. He’ll now get a chance to join the beleaguered bullpen and hopefully give them a boost. He has an option remaining and can perhaps be kept as a depth arm if the club needs yet another roster move in the days to come. He also has less than two years of service time and can be retained for future seasons if he continues to hang onto that 40-man roster spot.

Suero, 32, has been on a similar trajectory to Kuhnel in that he also signed a minor league pact with Houston in the winter and had his contract selected to help out the staff this week. He was added on Tuesday and put into that night’s game against the Royals. He came to the mound in the bottom of the 10th and allowed a single to Salvador Perez, scoring the free runner from second and ending the game without Suero recording an out.

He was optioned the next day to get Arrighetti onto the active roster and has now lost his spot on the 40-man as well. The Astros will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he will have the right to elect free agency, both due to his three-plus years of service time and a previous career outright.

He has a 4.75 ERA in 193 1/3 major league innings in his career, striking out 25.4% of opponents with a walk rate of 8.6%. But he had a 4.10 ERA from 2018 to 2020 and a 6.57 ERA since then. Despite the shaky results of late, plenty of clubs need pitching right now and Suero’s option means that he won’t require an active roster spot.

Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment

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The Astros have selected the contract of right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, a move that was reported last night. Right-hander Wander Suero was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to open an active roster spot while utility player Cooper Hummel was designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to relay the list of transactions.

Hummel, 29, was just claimed off waivers last week but the Astros have been dealing with a notable roster churn of late. Each of Suero, Arrighetti and Blair Henley have been selected to the 40-man in the past few days, which has squeezed Hummel out of his spot.

It’s been quite a nomadic few months for Hummel, who was with the Mariners in 2023. Since December, he’s gone to the Mets, Giants and Astros via waiver claims or cash deals. It’s possible yet another jersey swap is over the horizon, as the Astros will now have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers.

His 227 major league plate appearances have resulted in an unimpressive batting line of .166/.264/.286 but he’s naturally been much better in the minors. From the start of 2021 through the present day, he has 992 Triple-A plate appearances. He has drawn a walk in a huge 17.3% of those while keeping his strikeout rate down to a respectable 21.2% rate. His combined batting line of .287/.419/.488 in that time translates to a wRC+ of 131.

Defensively, Hummel offers a unique level of versatility, having spent significant time behind the plate as well as the outfield corners, first base and even a small amount of time at third base. He also has one option year remaining, which means he can be kept in Triple-A for depth until needed. With less than a year of service time, he’s still not close to qualifying for arbitration or free agency.

That combination of his Triple-A offense, his defensive flexibility and his contract status clearly makes him appealing to clubs, judging by how many of them have tried to grab him since the end of last year. Taking all that into consideration, he may be on the move yet again in the days to come. If he were to finally pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Astros as non-roster depth, since he has neither the three years of service time nor the previous career outright that would give him the right to elect free agency.

Astros Place Framber Valdez On Injured List

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The Astros have placed left-hander Framber Valdez on the 15-day injured list due to elbow soreness, retroactive to April 6, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X links). They also optioned right-hander Blair Henley to Triple-A Sugar Land. In corresponding moves, they recalled left-hander Parker Mushinski and selected the contract of right-hander Wander Suero. Mushinski was just optioned on Friday and hasn’t yet spent the minimum of 15 days on optional assignment, but players are allowed to return early when someone else goes on the IL. To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Suero, right-hander Oliver Ortega was transferred to the 60-day injured list, per Alexander. Henley relayed the news of his option last night, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to pass it on. Rome also noted that Suero was at the ballpark earlier today and also relayed that Mushinski was on his way to join the club.

It was reported yesterday that Valdez was scratched from his start due to elbow soreness and sent to Houston to visit with team doctors. Manager Joe Espada says the plan is for him to be shut down for a few days while his inflammation subsides, per Rome. Further updates will likely follow in the coming days as the club continues to monitor his progress.

With Valdez scratched, the Astros tagged in Henley as an emergency starter in yesterday’s game against the Rangers but he allowed five earned runs while recording just one out. The Astros managed to come back and win that game 10-5 but used four relievers, getting multiple innings from three of them. Today’s moves provide the club with a couple of fresh arms for their beleaguered bullpen.

Now that Valdez is officially on the IL, the Astros will have to find another starter to join their rotation alongside Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, J.P. France and Ronel Blanco, though Justin Verlander has begun a rehab assignment and may not be too far away. If Verlander wants to make a second rehab starts as planned, perhaps long reliever Brandon Bielak can take the ball in a few days’ time for a spot start.

Suero, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Astros in the offseason. He has 193 1/3 innings of major league experience, having pitched for the Nationals and Dodgers. He has a 4.75 earned run average in that time, striking out 25.4% of batters faced while walking 8.6%.

However, he’s a few years removed from his best results, as he had a 4.10 ERA with the Nats from 2018 to 2020 but then a 6.33 ERA in 2021. He was stuck in the minors in 2022 and then had a 7.88 ERA in eight innings for the Dodgers last year. But his recent Triple-A numbers have been better, as he had a 3.26 ERA in the Dodgers’ system last year and a 4.50 ERA through four appearances so far this year. Suero still has an option and also has less than four years of service time, meaning he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration if he holds onto a 40-man spot all year.

As for Ortega, it was reported last month that he would miss three to four months after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, making this transfer an inevitable formality.

Astros, Wander Suero Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Astros have signed reliever Wander Suero to a minor league contract, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll presumably get a look in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee.

Suero spent the 2023 season with the Dodgers. He signed an offseason minor league pact and was twice selected onto the big league roster. The 32-year-old righty pitched in five MLB contests, allowing seven runs over eight innings. Suero spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A, turning in a 3.26 ERA through 49 2/3 frames in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

While pitching in the minors, he punched out almost 26% of opponents. His 11.2% walk rate was higher than ideal. Suero had a better track record of strike-throwing before this season. He has walked a serviceable 8.6% of opponents over parts of five Triple-A campaigns, where he has a 3.59 ERA.

Suero has also pitched at the major league level in five different years. Aside from his limited time with the Dodgers, he’d otherwise only appeared for the Nationals. He was a durable and generally effective bullpen arm between 2018-20 before struggling to a 6.33 ERA in 2021.

The Astros have seen a trio of middle relievers — Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Hector Neris — reach free agency. That could open an opportunity in the middle innings for a non-roster veteran like Suero to battle for a roster spot.

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