Padres announce 5-year deal for reliever Robert Suarez

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres announced Thursday that reliever Robert Suarez signed a five-year deal that runs through 2027.

The deal has a player opt-out clause following the 2025 season.

The right-handed Suarez appeared in 45 games last season for San Diego and posted a 5-1 record with a 2.27 ERA. The 31-year-old made his major league debut on April 7, giving up three runs and not recording an out against Arizona. He would allow only nine earned runs the rest of the season.

Suarez had a 3.00 ERA over seven appearances in the postseason. He took the loss in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series when the Padres were eliminated by Philadelphia.

Suarez’s five-year deal is for $46 million. He will make salaries of $10 million in each of the first three years of the deal and $8 million in the last two. Additionally, he can make up to $3 million per season if he finishes a certain number of games.

A native of Bolivar, Venezuela, Suarez pitched for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Organization in 2021. He finished with 42 saves as he posted a 1.16 ERA. Suarez spent several seasons in NPB, where he went 7–13 with a 2.81 ERA.

In 2015, Suarez pitched for Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League. He was 5–0 with 23 saves.

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