The Baltimore Orioles have designated right-hander Albert Suárez for assignment, opening a 40-man roster spot and recalling outfielder Rece Hinds from Triple-A Norfolk, via the MLB transaction log.
It was the fifth time this season the club has DFA’d the 36-year-old Venezuelan, a pattern that has become one of the more unusual roster stories of 2026.
Suárez is out of minor-league options, so Baltimore must expose him to waivers whenever it wants him off the active roster.
After each previous designation this year, he cleared waivers and quickly returned—sometimes by accepting an outright assignment to Norfolk, more often by electing free agency and signing a fresh minor-league deal.
He last did that after an Aug. 21 DFA, re-signing Aug. 27 and having his contract selected again Sept. 1. History suggests another reunion is possible if he again goes unclaimed.
The latest move was practical as much as philosophical. Suárez worked three innings and 62 pitches on Saturday in a 5-0 loss, allowing two earned runs.
With September rosters expanded, the Orioles preferred a fresh arm and another look at Hinds, acquired from Miami before the Aug. 3 deadline.
After the outing, Suárez’s season line sat at a 4.12 ERA over 59 innings in 27 appearances, with a 16.6% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate, and 32.4% ground-ball rate. Those are useful innings-eater numbers more than high-leverage ones.
That role is a long way from his 2016 debut. Suárez first reached the majors with the San Francisco Giants on May 8, 2016, and spent two seasons there as a swingman before a five-year stretch in Japan and South Korea. Baltimore signed him as a minor-league free agent before 2024.
He became an unexpected rotation piece that year, posting a 3.70 ERA across 133 2/3 innings. Shoulder and forearm problems limited him to five appearances in 2025, and the Orioles non-tendered him—then brought him back on another minor-league contract.
Since returning to MLB with the Orioles, he has given the club more than 190 innings of mid-3.00s to low-4.00s baseball. That reliability, plus his willingness to shuttle between Baltimore and Norfolk, explains why the organization keeps circling back.
For now he is in DFA limbo again. A claim would end the cycle. If he clears, the Orioles and the veteran who first appeared in the majors a decade ago may yet run it back one more time.
