The Orioles are keeping pitcher Albert Suárez in the organization.

Suárez was non-tendered on Nov. 21, but the club announced today that he agreed to a minor league deal for 2026. He will come to spring training with a chance to recapture his job as a swingman/long reliever.

Suárez was one of the most valuable players on the 2024 team after returning to the majors for the first time since 2017 and posting a 3.70 ERA in 32 games, including 24 starts. However, he sustained a shoulder injury during his first appearance this year on March 28 in Toronto and didn’t return until rosters expanded in September. He pitched in four games and was shut down with a mild forearm flexor strain.

The club received positive news after Dr. Keith Meister examined Suárez in October. Suárez was the only non-tender by the Orioles at the arbitration deadline.

Suárez made $825,000 this year. He settled for a minor league contract but the bullpen has room for him. Closer Ryan Helsley signed a two-year, $28 million deal with an opt-out and the Orioles reacquired Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs for cash considerations.

The Orioles went into the Winter Meetings with a full 40-man roster and kept it that way. They just changed some of the names.

The big one, of course, is first baseman Pete Alonso, with the ink now dried on a five-year, $155 million contract. To make room, the Orioles designated catcher Maverick Handley for assignment.

"I think as the free agent process, once that kind of starts, you really kind of don’t know what’s going to happen," Alonso said at yesterday's introductory press conference. "It’s this weird baseball limbo. But then as you start to sit down and really start to think about things, you kind of have some time to really reflect. As the offseason progressed, realistically, as we got further along, this partnership to me, it was just head and shoulders above everybody else. This park, this city, this team, this organization, everything combined, everything just clicked. And for me, it was the perfect fit, not just as a player but for family life, too.

"I could go up and down a laundry list of things, there were just so many boxes, and every single box this place checked. For us, we’re just so pleased, and for this organization to see me, not just in the now but in the future, I mean, it’s such a blessing. I can’t wait to play, I can’t wait to perform, I can’t wait to win games.”

Switch-hitting catcher Drew Romo was a DFA victim Wednesday, which led to the understandable assumption that the Orioles were clearing a spot for Alonso. But no. They claimed left-hander Josh Walker on waivers from the Braves, bringing him back to the organization.

It’s easy for offseason waiver claims to slip through the cracks. 

Thaddeus Ward and René Pinto, claimed on the same day last November, didn’t end up seeing any major league playing time in 2025. Sam Hilliard, a claim in 2024, didn’t make an impact, either. 

Once in a while, though, an offseason waiver claim ends up contributing. 

Cole Sulser, claimed back in 2019, became part of a deal that netted the O’s a high draft pick and a couple of prospects. The same can be said for Bryan Baker, whose 3.73 ERA in Baltimore enticed the Rays to part with a high pick of their own. And, of course, how about the claim of Ramón Urías in 2020? The do-it-all infielder accumulated over 10.0 bWAR in his Orioles career. 

Baltimore is hoping that Drew Romo, recently claimed off waivers from the Rockies, falls into the latter category.