Albert Suárez

Albert Joe Suarez
(Chiguire)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 235 lb.

• Debut May 8, 2016

• Born October 8, 1989 in San Felix, Bolivar Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Albert Suarez began his professional career in 2008. His brother Robert Suárez has also pitched in the majors.

Suarez was signed by scout Ronnie Blanco for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006 and began his professional career in 2008, playing for the Princeton Rays and going 0-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 11 games (nine starts). In 2009, he pitched for the Hudson Valley Renegades, going a combined 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in two starts. He pitched for the GCL Rays and Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2010, going a combined 2-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 games (14 starts). In 2011, he went 1-1 with a 2.15 ERA in eight games between the GCL Rays and Charlotte Stone Crabs and in 2012, he was 5-9 with a 4.08 ERA in 25 starts for Charlotte. In two starts with Montgomery in 2013, he had a 1.42 ERA. With Charlotte and the Montgomery Biscuits in 2014, he went a combined 4-6 with a 3.60 ERA in 14 starts. He was let go by the Rays and signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He started the year with the Arkansas Travelers. In 27 starts with the club, he went 11-9 with a 2.98 ERA; he allowed only 142 hits and 40 walks in 162 innings.

He made his major league debut with the San Francisco Giants in May of 2016 after signing with them in the off-season as a minor league free agent. He made 22 appearances in the majors that season, going 3-5, 4.29 and tossing 84 innings. Little did he know at the time that he would have to wait a full eight years to record his next major league win! In 2017, he pitched 18 times for the Giants, all in relief but all three of his decisions were losses, in addition to his first career save. His ERA rose up to 5.12 and he spent the rest of the season in the minors, and then was picked by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2017 Rule V Draft. He never did pitch with the D-Backs, however, spending the 2018 season in AAA with the Reno Aces, and then moving on to Japan.

From 2019 to 2021, he pitched for the Yakult Swallows of NPB's Central League, also stopping by their minor league ni-gun squad each season. He was limited to just 8 games between the two teams the first year, but went 4-4, 2.67 as a starter the second year, and 5-3, 3.62 in 2021. In 2022, he moved to the Korea Baseball Organization's Samsung Lions, spending two seasons with the team. He was 6-8, 2.49 in 2022 and 4-7, 3.92 in 2023. He returned to the United States after signing as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles before the 2024 season. He started off the year in AAA with the Norfolk Tides of the International League but was called up to Baltimore on April 17th, when he started against the Minnesota Twins and did not give up a run but did not figure in the decision. It was in his second start, on April 22nd against the Los Angeles Angels that he broke off his long winless drought, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings to earn credit for a 4-2 victory.

His middle name has also been listed as Junior.

Further Reading

• Brent Maguire: "Worth the wait: Suárez wins first game since 2016 in solid performance", mlb.com, April23, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Albert Suárez on mlb.com
• BR Minors page