Veteran swingman Albert Suarez returns to Baltimore as the club selects his contract for the fifth time this season. To free a major‑league slot, Trey Gibson was optioned to the spring‑training complex, and Kyle Bradish shifted to the 60‑day IL. Who could have guessed they’d keep bringing him back?
The club slipped in one last Suarez move before the regular season closed, giving him a chance to log innings against the Yankees. The right‑hander has been DFA’d five times this year, yet each time he resurfaces via an outright assignment or a fresh minor‑league deal.
The arrangement has paid dividends for both parties. Suarez pops onto the roster when a fresh arm is needed, clears waivers when he’s not, and heads back to the minors to repeat the cycle. For my money, his flexibility is a savvy roster hack, delivering occasional MLB pay while the Orioles gain a bonus player.
Suarez has been serviceable in the majors, posting a 4.12 ERA across 29 appearances. Though he’s started games in the past, he’s been used exclusively out of the bullpen this season.
Gibson’s year has been a roller‑coaster. He finished his debut big‑league campaign with a 6.13 ERA over nine outings, eight of them starts. The young right‑hander ranks among Baltimore’s most promising pitching prospects, having reached Triple‑A late last year and spending most of the season there.
The 24‑year‑old routinely generated strikeout fireworks in the minors, but his walk rate bordered on alarming. At the top level he issued walks on 14.6% of batters in 39 2/3 innings with the Orioles. He closed the season on a high note, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Toronto in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Bradish landed on the injured list in mid‑September with lower‑abdominal discomfort, later diagnosed as a sports hernia. The team said he’s weighing surgery, which could push his return to spring training in 2027. Could his comeback reshape Baltimore’s rotation next year?