Albert Suárez

Albert Joe Suárez Subero (born October 8, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants. He has also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and in the KBO League for the Samsung Lions.

Tampa Bay Rays
On July 2, 2006, Suárez signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization as an international free agent. Suárez began his professional career in 2008, playing for the rookie ball Princeton Rays and went 0–2 with a 3.92 ERA in 11 games (nine starts). In 2009, he pitched for the Low-A Hudson Valley Renegades, going a combined 1–0 with a 2.79 ERA in two starts. He pitched for the GCL Rays and the Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2010, going a combined 2–5 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 games (14 starts). On November 19, 2010, Suárez was added to the Rays' 40-man roster. In 2011, he was 1–1 with a 2.15 ERA in eight games between the GCL Rays and High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs and in 2012, he was 5–9 with a 4.08 ERA in 25 starts for Charlotte. On August 31, 2012, Suárez was designated for assignment by Tampa Bay. He cleared waivers on September 3 and was assigned to Double-A. He made two starts for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits in 2013, posting a 1.42 ERA. On November 4, 2013, he elected free agency, but quickly re-signed with Tampa Bay on November 12 on a new minor league contract. With Charlotte and Montgomery in 2014, he went a combined 4–6 with a 3.60 ERA in 14 starts.

Los Angeles Angels
On November 24, 2014, Suárez signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that included an invitation to Spring Training. He was assigned to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers to begin the year, and after going 11–9 with a 2.98 ERA in 27 starts for the team, he earned a 2015 Texas League Mid-Season All-Star selection. On November 6, 2015, he elected free agency.

San Francisco Giants
On November 18, 2015, Suárez signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants organization that included an invitation to major league spring training. He was assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats to begin the 2016 season. Suárez was 1–2 with a 2.88 ERA in Triple-A when he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on May 6, 2016.

Suárez made his major league debut on May 8, 2016, pitching one scoreless inning in relief against the Colorado Rockies. Suárez earned his first major league win on May 11, pitching a scoreless top of the 13th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, escaping a bases-loaded jam by inducing Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista to pop out. Suárez made his first major league start on June 1, 2016, against the Atlanta Braves, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings pitched. In the game, he got his first major league hit and RBI on an infield single off Ian Krol. He finished his rookie season with a 3-5 record and 4.29 ERA in 22 appearances. In 2017, Suárez logged an 0-3 record and a 5.12 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 18 appearances for the Giants. On December 1, 2017, Suárez was non-tendered by the Giants, but re-signed with the team on a minor league contract on December 10.

Arizona Diamondbacks
On December 14, 2017, Suárez was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Rule 5 draft. On March 24, 2018, Suárez was designated for assignment by Arizona and was outrighted to the Triple-A Reno Aces on March 27. He spent the year in Reno, logging a 4.97 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 63.1 innings of work. Suárez elected free agency on October 11, 2018.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows
On December 12, 2018, Suárez signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He finished his first NPB season with a 1.53 ERA in 4 appearances. The next year, he pitched in 12 games for Yakult, posting a 4-4 record and 2.67 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 67.1 innings.

Samsung Lions
On December 7, 2021, Suárez signed with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. In 30 games (29 starts) for Samsung in 2022, he registered a 6–8 record and 2.49 ERA with 159 strikeouts in $173 2⁄3$ innings pitched.

On December 7, 2022, Suarez re-signed a one-year $1.3 million contract for the 2023 season. In 2023, he made 19 starts for Samsung, posting a 4–7 record and 3.92 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 108.0 innings of work. After suffering a left calf injury that ruled him out for a month, Suarez was released by the Lions on August 10, 2023.

Baltimore Orioles
On September 15, 2023, Suárez signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He was assigned to the Triple–A Norfolk Tides to begin the 2024 season. On April 17, 2024, the Orioles added Suárez to their major league roster. Suárez started that day's game and struck out the first batter he faced in the majors since September 26, 2017, en route to $5 2⁄3$ shutout innings. He pitched an additional $5 2/3$ shutout innings in a 4–2 away victory over the Los Angeles Angels on April 22, earning his first MLB win since June 23, 2016. The 2,860 days between those two MLB wins is the second-longest since the 1950s, surpassed by only Travis Blackley's 2,906 from 2004 to 2012.

Personal life
His brother, Robert Suárez, currently pitches for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB).