The Seattle Mariners announced on May 3 that they have claimed left-handed pitcher José Suarez off waivers from the Atlanta Braves, adding depth to their bullpen ahead of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.
This move required a corresponding roster change, with outfielder Rhylan Thomas being designated for assignment to clear space on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.
Suarez was designated for assignment by Atlanta after appearing in eight games this season, including one start. Over those outings, he allowed 12 earned runs in 16 and one-third innings, recording a 6.61 earned run average with 12 walks and 21 strikeouts. He was primarily used as a multi-inning reliever and pitched at least two innings in five of his appearances. Notably, he recorded a three-inning save against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 17.
This season, Suarez has relied more heavily on his changeup pitch, which has produced a high swing-and-miss rate and limited opposing hitters to an expected batting average of .187. However, batters have found success against his four-seam fastball, hitting .400 off that pitch.
Suarez has played parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball—mostly with the Los Angeles Angels before joining the Braves—and holds a career earned run average of 5.35 along with a strikeout rate just above twenty percent.
Fans may recall an incident involving Suarez during a benches-clearing altercation between Seattle and Anaheim in June of 2022. On that day, after being listed as starting pitcher but replaced last minute by then-manager Phil Nevin’s decision to use Andrew Wantz as an opener, Suarez followed Wantz into the game following several ejections stemming from hit batsmen and pitched six innings in what became a narrow loss for Seattle.
Regarding Thomas’s departure from the roster, he had been performing well at Triple-A Tacoma but faced limited opportunities given Seattle’s current outfield options—including Luke Raley, Rob Refsnyder, Connor Joe and Dominic Canzone sharing time based on matchups—and Victor Robles set to return soon after beginning his rehab assignment.
