Padres Keeping Robert Suarez On Rare 5-Year Deal

Padres reliver Robert Suarez, a Nippon Professional Baseball standout in Japan before the 2022 season, parlayed a stellar rookie season into a major payday.

The last three relief pitchers to earn five-year contracts this decade – Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman and, most recently, Edwin Díaz – all had significant major league closing experience when they signed. Robert Suarez, meanwhile, has just one MLB save and 45 big league games on his résumé, yet he’s agreed to a deal of equal length.

The right-hander is re-signing with the Padres on a five-year, $46 million contract, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. The pact includes an opt-out after three seasons.

Suarez is 31 years old, but he is coming off his first MLB season after several years in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. That tenure ended with two stellar seasons for the Hanshin Tigers; Suarez recorded a 2.24 ERA with 25 saves in 2020 before registering a 1.16 ERA and 42 saves in 2021.

Suarez, a Venezuela native, parlayed that performance into a one-year, $5 million deal with the Padres last offseason. That deal included a $5 million player option, which Suarez recently declined after notching a 2.27 ERA with 11.5 K/9 over 47.2 innings pitched in his first major league campaign.

Suarez established himself as San Diego’s go-to set-up man in 2022, and his new contract puts him in position to be the club’s future closer. Josh Hader, acquired before the trade deadline during the 2022 season, is slated for free agency after the 2023 season.

In other Padres news, versatile right-hander Nick Martinez exercised an opt-out in his contract on Thursday. He, too, joined San Diego following a successful stint in Japan, inking a four-year, $25.5 million deal last March. The 32-year-old and the team are still negotiating, according to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin.

In addition, the Friars selected right-hander Pedro Avila to their 40-man roster, while fellow righty Austin Adams went unclaimed on waivers and elected free agency.