SAN DIEGO — When Albert Suárez last pitched for the Orioles, the optimism for the club was at its highest point of the season.
The Orioles were expected to be a World Series contender and were coming off a blowout win over the Toronto Blue Jays on opening day. The team Suárez rejoined Monday has no such optimism surrounding it after a disappointing campaign that included a managerial firing, a trade deadline fire sale and now a limp toward the finish line.
The Orioles on Monday activated Suárez off the 60-day injured list, adding him to the active roster, which expands from 26 to 28 for the final month of the season. The right-hander has been out since late March when he suffered a shoulder muscle strain in the second game of the season, keeping him on the shelf for five months.
Suárez emerged last season as one of the Orioles’ most valuable pitchers, finishing second on the team in innings (133 2/3) and posting a 3.70 ERA between the bullpen and rotation. The 35-year-old is expected to be a bulk reliever over the season’s final month — a role he was valuable in last season and one he could fulfill next year. Suárez allowed only one run across the final 10 2/3 innings of his minor league rehabilitation assignment in Triple-A Norfolk.
Catcher Maverick was also added to the roster Monday before the Orioles series opener against the Padres. Handley spent about two months with the Orioles earlier this season before landing on the IL with a concussion and a wrist injury. Handley gives the Orioles a third catcher, but he might not be on the roster for long since the club is anticipating utility player Jorge Mateo to return from the IL this week. Cody Poteet also elected to become a free agent rather than accept his assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
A reliever will also have to come off the roster Tuesday to make room for Tyler Wells. The 6-foot-8 right-hander is expected to make his season debut as the Orioles’ starter Tuesday, though the club has yet to officially announce him as such.
Wells hasn’t pitched in a big league game since April 2024 when he suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Two months later, he underwent surgery to repair the ligament, the second time in his career he’s gone under the knife to fix his UCL.
The 31-year-old was the Orioles’ best starting pitcher in 2023’s first half when he led the American League in WHIP. He posted a 3.64 ERA in 118 2/3 innings that season before making only three starts in 2024.
Wells is always an option to be moved to the bullpen given his past success as a big league reliever, but he will be a starter for the remainder of 2025 to build up a solid innings base from which to build going into 2026. Assuming health, Baltimore will employ a six-man rotation for the final month: Kyle Bradish, Wells, Cade Povich, Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers and Tomoyuki Sugano.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
