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BREAKING: Closer Robert Suarez and the Atlanta Braves are in agreement on a three-year, $45 million contract, sources tell ESPN.
Heard Blue Jays and Mets were checking in regularly on Robert Suarez, but didn’t make formal offers because Atlanta moved quickly, landing one of the top relievers available for $45 million over three years.
According to Sportnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays are telling people they’re motivated in the relief market & expect to be able to add there. Lots of talented pitchers still out there after the Edwin Diaz & Robert Suarez deals, so the Jays still seem well-positioned to land someone good.
Braves now have a formidable duo in the back-end of their bullpen with Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias
Now Atlanta-bound, Suarez has consistently posted quality numbers in high-leverage spots for the Padres.
Dating back to his 2022 MLB debut, he’s posted a 2.91 ERA with a 26.5% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in 210 innings.
Suarez sits just under 99 mph with his four-seamer and complements the pitch with a changeup that got great results in ’22-’23 but has been hit hard the past two seasons.
It hasn’t led to poor results, however, because Suarez’s fastball and sinker both grade out as dominant offerings.
Suarez now joins right-hander Raisel Iglesias, who re-upped on a one-year, $16MM contract earlier in the offseason, to form a potent one-two punch at the back of the Braves new bullpen.
Between the two of them, Atlanta now has two of the five relievers with the most saves over the last two seasons.
Previously on Blue Jays Central