The Braves have signed right-hander Wander Suero to a minor league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The Rep 1 Baseball client will presumably receive an invite to major league spring training as well.
Suero, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Astros last winter. He was selected to the roster in April but was outrighted off the roster after just one appearance. He spent most of the year in Triple-A and had a good performance. He tossed 67 2/3 innings for the Space Cowboys, allowing 2.66 earned runs per nine. He was surely helped by a .238 batting average on balls in play and 85.8% strand rate, but his 24.8% strikeout rate was a strong mark.
He does have some experience as an effective major league reliever, though it’s been a few years now. He tossed 142 2/3 innings for the Nationals over the 2018 through 2020 seasons with a 4.10 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. He earned one save and 27 holds for the Nats in that time. But his ERA jumped to 6.33 in 2021 and he was non-tendered after that season.
Over the past three years, he’s mostly been limited to minor league work, with only six big league appearances in that stretch. But he had a 3.45 ERA in his 141 Triple-A innings for that time frame, striking out 23.1% of batters faced while walking 10.8%.
Atlanta might have a tight budget this offseason and the bullpen needs addressing. A.J. Minter, Jesse Chavez and John Brebbia just became free agents and Joe Jiménez recently underwent knee surgery that could keep him on the injured list for the entire 2025 season. Suero gives them a bit of extra non-roster depth and still has one option year remaining. That roster flexibility could work in his favor when it comes to getting a spot next year.
